Best X1 Search Alternative for Mac
Feb 25, 2026
Best X1 Search Alternative for Mac
If you used X1 Search on Windows, you probably got spoiled.
Type a few words, get instant results, preview the match, move on. No folder hunting. No “maybe it’s in that PDF.” No wasting time opening five files just to find one sentence.
Then you move to macOS and realize something fast: X1 is not available on Mac, and it cannot index or search Mac apps and files.
So what is the closest equivalent on macOS?
If what you loved about X1 was the ability to find the exact information inside your files and attachments quickly, the best replacement is a private file intelligence layer that works locally on your Mac.
That’s where Fenn fits.
CTA: Try Fenn, “Private AI that finds any file on your Mac.” It searches inside your files and opens the exact spot where the match lives.
What X1 users are really trying to replace
X1 is known for fast search across lots of sources, including email and attachments, local and cloud data sources, and Microsoft 365 sources.
But when people ask for an “X1 equivalent on Mac,” the core job is usually one of these:
Find a phrase inside a PDF, Word doc, slide deck, or spreadsheet
Find the file that contains the information, not just the filename
Preview the match quickly so you can confirm it’s the right result
Search across years of messy folders and project archives
Do it privately, because the data is sensitive
That last point matters more than ever. A lot of “AI search” products quietly send content to cloud services.
Why Spotlight feels disappointing if you used X1
Spotlight is great for launching apps and finding recent items, but it’s not designed as a dedicated “work corpus search engine” the way X1 feels on Windows.
Common friction points X1 users notice on Mac:
You get the file, not the answer inside the file
You spend time opening documents just to confirm relevance
You cannot easily jump to the exact page, slide, or moment where the match appears
Searching across modern work formats (PDFs, decks, screenshots, scans, recordings) feels inconsistent
So if you want an X1-like experience, you usually want something more purpose-built than the default system search.
What to look for in an X1 alternative on Mac
Here’s the practical checklist. If a Mac tool cannot do these, it will not feel like X1:
Search inside content, not only filenames
Fast results and confidence, meaning previews or snippets that show the match
Precision navigation, meaning open at the exact place inside the file
Broad file support, because real work is not only one format
Privacy by default, especially for client work and confidential documents
The closest X1-style experience on Mac for files: Fenn
Fenn is Private AI that finds any file on your Mac.
It is not an email client and it is not trying to be a Microsoft 365 super-connector like X1. Instead, it focuses on what most people actually need day-to-day:
What Fenn does that feels “X1-like”
Searches inside your files, not just titles
Shows contextual snippets so you can confirm quickly
Opens the exact moment inside your file, like a specific PDF page, slide number, audio timestamp, or video frame
Works locally on your Mac, on-device, so your data stays private
The big difference vs cloud AI tools
With many cloud AI products, “search” often means uploading documents to a provider.
Fenn’s value is the opposite:
on-device indexing
on-device retrieval
private by design
If you work in legal, finance, consulting, healthcare ops, or any team handling confidential material, that privacy boundary is the whole point.
How to set it up in a non-technical way
Step 1: Point Fenn at your real work folders
Pick the places you actually search:
Clients
Projects
Downloads
Research
Shared team folders you keep locally
Archives of PDFs, decks, exports
Step 2: Search the way you remember
Fenn supports multiple search modes, so you can search by exact words or by meaning, depending on what you recall.
Step 3: Jump straight to the answer
Instead of “found the file, now scroll,” you open directly to the relevant page, slide, or timestamp, with context.
This is the moment that makes it feel like a real productivity tool.
Why this matters in real work
A lawyer remembers a carve-out clause, but not which contract version it was in.
An analyst remembers a number from a deck, but not which quarter.
A designer remembers the one screenshot that shows the settings used last time.
With a basic search tool, you find five candidates, open five files, and waste 15 minutes.
With a file intelligence tool, you search once, open at the exact spot, and move on.
That is the “X1 feeling” people miss when switching to Mac.
A quick note for X1 users who mainly searched email
X1 is heavily used for email and Microsoft 365 style sources on Windows.
If your main need is searching inside Outlook mailboxes and cloud chats, your best path on Mac is usually a dedicated email or M365 workflow.
But if the part you miss is “find the answer inside my documents and attachments fast,” Fenn is the closest experience, and it keeps your data on your Mac.
X1 is Windows-only.
If you want the closest Mac equivalent for finding information inside files quickly, and you want it private and on-device, Fenn is the best fit.