diff --git a/gptme/tools/_browser_lynx.py b/gptme/tools/_browser_lynx.py
index ad470ae3..f91f8b7b 100644
--- a/gptme/tools/_browser_lynx.py
+++ b/gptme/tools/_browser_lynx.py
@@ -2,28 +2,51 @@
 Browser tool by calling lynx --dump
 """
 
+import os
 import subprocess
 
 
-def read_url(url):
-    return subprocess.run(
-        ["lynx", "--dump", url, "--display_charset=utf-8"], stdout=subprocess.PIPE
-    ).stdout.decode("utf-8")
-
-
-def search(query, engine="google"):
+def read_url(url, cookies: dict | None = None) -> str:
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    # TODO: create and set LYNX_CFG to use custom lynx config file (needed to save cookies, which I need to debug how cookies should be read)
+    # env["LYNX_CFG"] = str(Path("~/.config/lynx/lynx.cfg").expanduser())
+    if cookies:
+        # save them to file to be read by lynx
+        pass
+    #     with open(Path("~/.lynx_cookies").expanduser(), "w") as f:
+    #         for k, v in cookies.items():
+    #             f.write(f"{k}\t{v}\n")
+    p = subprocess.run(
+        ["lynx", "--dump", url, "--display_charset=utf-8"],
+        env=env,
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+    )
+    # should be utf-8, but we can't be sure
+    return p.stdout.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+
+
+def search(query, engine="duckduckgo"):
     if engine == "google":
-        return read_url(f"https://www.google.com/search?q={query}")
+        # TODO: we need to figure out a way to remove the consent banner to access google search results
+        #       otherwise google is not usable
+        return read_url(
+            f"https://www.google.com/search?q={query}&hl=en",
+            cookies={"CONSENT+": "YES+42"},
+        )
     elif engine == "duckduckgo":
-        return read_url(f"https://duckduckgo.com/?q={query}")
+        return read_url(f"https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/?q={query}")
     raise ValueError(f"Unknown search engine: {engine}")
 
 
 def test_read_url():
-    print(read_url("https://gptme.org/"))
-    print(read_url("https://github.com/ErikBjare/gptme/issues/205"))
+    content = read_url("https://gptme.org/")
+    assert "Getting Started" in content
+    content = read_url("https://github.com/ErikBjare/gptme/issues/205")
+    assert "lynx-backed browser tool" in content
 
 
 def test_search():
-    print(search("Python", "google"))
-    print(search("Python", "duckduckgo"))
+    # result = search("Python", "google")
+    result = search("Erik Bjäreholt", "duckduckgo")
+    assert "erik.bjareholt.com" in result