ChatGPT for Google is, by Chrome Web Store install count, the most successful AI Chrome extension ever shipped. Several million users run it. Its job is precise and narrow: when you run a Google search, it shows a ChatGPT answer in a panel next to the regular results. That is genuinely the entire product. Clicky is also narrow — push-to-talk voice answers anchored to DOM elements — but the narrowness points in a different direction. This post lines them up so you can decide which (or both) belongs on your machine.
Two extensions, two jobs
We mapped the AI Chrome extension landscape in detail in Best AI Chrome Extensions for SaaS Workflows. ChatGPT for Google sits in a category we did not even cover there — “search-augmentation extensions” — because its primary job is happening on a single domain (google.com) rather than across every site you visit. Clicky sits in the targeted-voice-assistant category. The two products are not really competitors; they are co-residents on a typical browser.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Clicky | ChatGPT for Google |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Voice Q&A about the current page | ChatGPT answer beside search results |
| Where it triggers | Any page, on Alt-press | Search engine result pages (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.) |
| Permission scope | activeTab only (on-press) | Host permissions on supported search engines |
| Voice input | Hold Alt to speak | No |
| Voice output | Every answer (ElevenLabs) | No |
| DOM grounding | Yes — halo on the element | No — answer in side panel |
| Memory | Session-only, in-tab | Session-only chat thread |
| Models | Claude Haiku 4.5 / Sonnet 4.6 | GPT (managed via OpenAI account) |
| BYOK | No — managed | No — uses user's ChatGPT login |
| Pricing entry | Explorer free — 10 turns/day | Free with ChatGPT account |
| Best-at task | Pointed in-app questions | Quick AI takes during web search |
ChatGPT for Google information from the Chrome Web Store listing and the maintainer’s public documentation, read September 2026. Clicky information from the product itself.
What ChatGPT for Google actually does
Install ChatGPT for Google, log into your ChatGPT account, and nothing changes until the next time you run a Google search. When you do, a side panel appears next to the regular results with a ChatGPT answer to the same query. You can refine it with follow-up questions, copy it, or ignore it. The extension also works on Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Kagi, and a handful of other engines.
The product is, deliberately, almost nothing else. It does not have a quick-action menu over selected text. It does not summarise pages you are reading. It does not draft emails. It does not act on your SaaS dashboards. It is the most opinionated extension in the category — one job, done well, used by millions.
The reason for its install count, beyond timing, is that the interaction is invisible until you ask for it. You search, you see the panel, you read it or not. There is no dashboard, no configuration, no context-switching. Other extensions try to do more; ChatGPT for Google does less, on purpose, and that is the product.
What Clicky actually does
Clicky is similarly narrow but pointed at a different target. Hold the Alt key, ask a question about whatever is on screen (“where is the export button?”, “what does this field mean?”), release. A voice answer plays through ElevenLabs, and a halo paints on the actual DOM element that matters. There is no panel, no chat thread, no model picker, no search integration.
It does not help you while you search Google; it helps you while you operate the SaaS tools you opened from the search results. The permission scope is activeTab only, fired strictly on Alt-press. Memory is session-only.
For the long version, see What Is an Agentic Browser Assistant? and the design rationale in Push-to-Talk vs Always-Listening AI.
Search-augmentation vs in-app action
The cleanest way to think about the difference is: ChatGPT for Google is something you read. Clicky is something you act on.
ChatGPT for Google adds a generated answer next to Google’s own results. The user’s next move is usually to scan both and decide which to trust. The extension is part of the information-gathering phase of a task, not the doing phase. For that phase, it is effective and inexpensive.
Clicky activates after you have stopped gathering and started doing. You are inside HubSpot, or Salesforce, or Stripe, or Notion, or Linear, and you cannot find a control. The voice + halo loop ends with you knowing where to click. The two extensions are not adjacent on a feature comparison; they are adjacent on the timeline of a typical workday.
Privacy and permissions
Both extensions have relatively narrow scopes for their respective jobs, but the shapes are different.
ChatGPT for Google requests host permissions on the search engines it supports — that is what lets it inject the side panel into the results page. It does not need broad host access on every site. The data flow is: query → OpenAI (under your ChatGPT account’s terms) → answer rendered in the panel. That puts the privacy contract in the same envelope as your existing ChatGPT account; if you have ChatGPT’s data controls set to opt out of training, the extension inherits that posture.
Clicky requests activeTab only and stores nothing server-side beyond the in-tab session. Inputs go to Anthropic Claude under a no-train commercial agreement; voice synthesis goes to ElevenLabs and is not retained. We covered the framework for this kind of decision in Chrome Extensions That Do Not Track You.
Pricing and plans
ChatGPT for Google is free to install; the AI usage is billed through your ChatGPT account. If you have a free ChatGPT account, the extension uses the free tier. If you have ChatGPT Plus, it uses the Plus tier. There is no separate subscription for the extension.
Clicky is priced in EUR with managed billing: Explorer free (10 push-to-talk turns per day), Pro at 19€/month billed annually (228€/year), Team at 99€/month billed annually (1188€/year) for five pooled seats. Full breakdown on the landing page.
When ChatGPT for Google is the better pick
- You search a lot, and you want a second opinion next to the results. The extension was designed for exactly that loop and remains the best tool for it.
- You already have a ChatGPT account you are happy with. The extension reuses it; there is no second bill.
- You do not need anything to act on a SaaS page. If your work is read-and-research, ChatGPT for Google covers the job at zero marginal cost.
When Clicky is the better pick
- Your day is operating SaaS dashboards. Clicky points at on-page elements; ChatGPT for Google does not have an equivalent capability.
- You want voice-first interaction. Push-to-talk with a voice answer is dramatically faster than reading a panel of generated text when your hands are on the keyboard.
- You need accessibility support. Voice answer + halo loop works better than text-in-panel for low-vision and motor-impairment use-cases. We covered both in AI Tools for Low-Vision Web Users and Hands-Free Browsing for Motor Impairment.
- Your security context restricts broad-host extensions. Clicky’s activeTab-only model is a much easier conversation than an extension that injects content on every search you run.
For the record: many users install both. The two extensions almost never collide because they fire on different surfaces. ChatGPT for Google is silent everywhere except your search results; Clicky is silent everywhere until you press Alt.
Frequently asked questions
Is Clicky a ChatGPT for Google alternative?
No, in the strict sense. The two extensions do not solve the same problem. ChatGPT for Google augments search results; Clicky answers questions about the page you are on. If your goal is “ChatGPT next to my search results,” install ChatGPT for Google. If your goal is “help me operate this SaaS dashboard,” install Clicky.
Can ChatGPT for Google answer questions about a page I am viewing?
Not directly — the extension is built around the search-results surface, not arbitrary pages. To get an AI answer about a non-search page from the same OpenAI account, you would need to copy the content into the ChatGPT app or install a different extension (Monica, MaxAI, Sider, or Clicky).
Which one is faster?
Different timings. ChatGPT for Google starts streaming an answer within a second or two of your search submitting. Clicky starts a voice answer within roughly a second of releasing the Alt key on the paid Sonnet plan. They are both well below the threshold where latency is the limiting factor; the question is which loop fits the task you are doing.
Which one is more private?
Clicky has a smaller permission and storage footprint by construction. ChatGPT for Google inherits whatever privacy posture you have configured on your ChatGPT account, which can be made strong (opt out of training, manage memory) but is not strict by default. For a sensitive corporate machine, Clicky is an easier sign-off; for a personal machine where you are already happy with ChatGPT, the extension does not add new exposure beyond what your account already has.
Part of our comparisons series. See also Clicky vs Monica, Clicky vs Sider, Clicky vs HARPA AI, and Clicky vs MaxAI/Merlin.