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# Introduction

 
AI agents are only as effective as their access to fresh, reliable information. Behind the scenes, many agents use web search tools to pull the latest context and ensure their outputs remain relevant. However, not all search APIs are created equal, and not every option will fit seamlessly into your stack or workflow.

In this article, we review the top 7 web search APIs that you can integrate into your agent workflows. For each API, you will find example Python code to help you get started quickly. Best of all, every API we cover offers a free (though limited) tier, allowing you to experiment without needing to enter a credit card or encounter additional hurdles.

1. Firecrawl

 
Firecrawl provides a dedicated Search API built “for AI,” alongside its crawl/scrape stack. You can choose your output format: clean Markdown, raw HTML, link lists, or screenshots, so the data fits your downstream workflow. It also supports customizable search parameters (e.g. language and country) to target results by locale, and is built for AI agents that need web data at scale.

Installation: pip install firecrawl-py

from firecrawl import Firecrawl

firecrawl = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

results = firecrawl.search(
    query="KDnuggets",
    limit=3,
)
print(results)

2. Tavily

 
Tavily is a search engine for AI agents and LLMs that turns queries into vetted, LLM-ready insights in a single API call. Instead of returning raw links and noisy snippets, Tavily aggregates up to 20 sources, then uses proprietary AI to score, filter, and rank the most relevant content for your task, reducing the need for custom scraping and post-processing.

Installation: pip install tavily-python

from tavily import TavilyClient

tavily_client = TavilyClient(api_key="tvly-YOUR_API_KEY")
response = tavily_client.search("Who is MLK?")

print(response)

3. Exa

 
Exa is an innovative, AI-native search engine that offers four modes: Auto, Fast, Keyword, and Neural. These modes effectively balance precision, speed, and semantic understanding. Built on its own high-quality web index, Exa uses embeddings-powered “next-link prediction” in its Neural search. This feature surfaces links based on meaning rather than exact words, making it particularly effective for exploratory queries and complex, layered filters.

Installation: pip install exa_py

from exa_py import Exa

import os

exa = Exa(os.getenv('EXA_API_KEY'))
result = exa.search(
  "hottest AI medical startups",
  num_results=2
)

4. Serper.dev

 
Serper is a fast and cost-effective Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) API that delivers results in just 1 to 2 seconds. It supports all major Google verticals in one API, including Search, Images, News, Maps, Places, Videos, Shopping, Scholar, Patents, and Autocomplete. It provides structured SERP data, enabling you to build real-time search features without the need for scraping. Serper lets you get started instantly with 2,500 free search queries, no credit card required.

Installation: pip install --upgrade --quiet langchain-community langchain-openai

import os
import pprint

os.environ["SERPER_API_KEY"] = "your-serper-api-key"
from langchain_community.utilities import GoogleSerperAPIWrapper

search = GoogleSerperAPIWrapper()
search.run("Top 5 programming languages in 2025")

5. SerpAPI

 
SerpApi offers a powerful Google Search API, along with support for additional search engines, delivering structured Search Engine Results Page data. It features robust infrastructure, including global IPs, a complete browser cluster, and CAPTCHA solving to ensure reliable and accurate results. Additionally, SerpApi provides advanced parameters, such as precise location controls through the location parameter and a /locations.json helper.

Installation: pip install google-search-results

from serpapi import GoogleSearch

params = {
    "engine": "google_news",             # use Google News engine
    "q": "Artificial Intelligence",      # search query
    "hl": "en",                          # language
    "gl": "us",                          # country
    "api_key": "secret_api_key"          # replace with your SerpAPI key
}

search = GoogleSearch(params)
results = search.get_dict()

# Print top 5 news results with title + link
for idx, article in enumerate(results.get("news_results", []), start=1):
    print(f"{idx}. {article['title']} - {article['link']}")

6. SearchApi

 
SearchApi offers real-time SERP scraping across many engines and verticals, exposing Google Web along with specialized endpoints such as Google News, Scholar, Autocomplete, Lens, Finance, Patents, Jobs, and Events, plus non-Google sources like Amazon, Bing, Baidu, and Google Play; this breadth lets agents target the right vertical while keeping a single JSON schema and consistent integration path.

import requests

url = "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search"
params = {
    "engine": "google_maps",
    "q": "best sushi restaurants in New York"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=params)
print(response.text)

7. Brave Search

 
Brave Search offers a privacy-first API on an independent web index, with endpoints for web, news, and images that work well for grounding LLMs without user tracking. It’s developer-friendly, performant, and includes a free usage plan.

import requests

url = "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search"
headers = {
    "Accept": "application/json",
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip",
    "X-Subscription-Token": ""
}
params = {
    "q": "greek restaurants in san francisco"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)

if response.status_code == 200:
    data = response.json()
    print(data)
else:
    print(f"Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}")

Wrapping Up

 
I pair search APIs with Cursor IDE through MCP Search to pull fresh documentation right inside my editor, which speeds up debugging and improves my programming flow. These tools power real-time web applications, agentic RAG workflows, and more, while keeping outputs grounded and reducing hallucinations in sensitive scenarios.

Key advantages:

• Customization for precise queries, including filters, freshness windows, region, and language
• Flexible output formats like JSON, Markdown, or plaintext for seamless agent handoffs
• The option to search and scrape the web to enrich context for your AI agents
• Free tiers and affordable usage-based pricing so you can experiment and scale without worry

Pick the API that matches your stack, latency needs, content coverage, and budget. If you need a place to start, I highly recommend Firecrawl and Tavily. I use both almost every day.
 
 

Abid Ali Awan (@1abidaliawan) is a certified data scientist professional who loves building machine learning models. Currently, he is focusing on content creation and writing technical blogs on machine learning and data science technologies. Abid holds a Master’s degree in technology management and a bachelor’s degree in telecommunication engineering. His vision is to build an AI product using a graph neural network for students struggling with mental illness.

Chennai-based OrbitAID Aerospace has inaugurated a 6,500 square feet research and development facility in Bengaluru to strengthen India’s space capabilities in on-orbit refuelling and satellite servicing. The launch event took place in the presence of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman V Narayanan.

The new centre will support India’s upcoming missions by extending satellite life, reducing space debris and enabling sustainable space operations. Speaking at the event, Narayanan said the facility marks “a monumental milestone in our mission to revolutionise on-orbit refuelling and satellite servicing”.

This development comes just after the startup raised $1.5 million in January this year. This was during a pre-seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures, with additional participation from the Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN). 

The funds were to be used to scale the company’s patented Standard Interface Docking and Refuelling Port for commercial use.

Advanced Testbeds & Labs

The R&D facility houses a dedicated Rendezvous Proximity Operations and Docking testbed for autonomous manoeuvre validation, an advanced fuel transfer laboratory for leak-proof propellant technology and a cleanroom for precise satellite assembly and testing.

OrbitAID stated in a LinkedIn post that the in-house infrastructure will accelerate its mission timelines and support India’s transition towards a circular space economy. CEO Sakthikumar R described the opening as a step forward in developing critical technologies such as docking, refuelling and space robotics.

The ceremony brought together senior officials and international delegates, including Lt Gen AK Bhatt (retd), director general of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), who emphasised the importance of “building synergy through public–private partnerships”. 

He also highlighted the need to strengthen indigenous technologies to foster self-reliance in the space sector. Consuls general from Germany, Italy and Switzerland and representatives from StartupTN, ISRO and foreign trade bodies also attended.

ISpA congratulated OrbitAID, noting in a LinkedIn post that the facility is “an important step in advancing India’s capabilities in sustainable space operations”.

Sudheer Kumar N, former director of capacity building and public outreach at ISRO, also added, “These technologies are very critical for the upcoming space missions of sustainability, Bharatiya Antariksh Station and debris removal.”

Anthropic has made Claude generally available in Xcode 26, Apple’s flagship integrated development environment (IDE). The new integration brings Claude Sonnet 4 directly into developers’ workflows, enabling AI-powered coding intelligence features for building, testing and distributing apps across Apple platforms.

With this release, developers can connect their Claude account to Xcode and access an assistant that interacts with code using natural language. The system automatically gathers context from the project, retains conversation history and supports file attachments, helping teams debug issues, refactor large sections and quickly build new features.

Beyond assistance, Claude introduces coding tools designed to streamline development tasks. These include generating documentation, providing explanations for specific code segments and producing SwiftUI previews and playgrounds. Developers can also make inline code changes directly within the editor, reducing the need to switch between tools.

The availability of Claude in Xcode ties into existing subscription plans. Usage limits are shared across platforms, with a portion allocated for Xcode integration. The feature is available to users on Pro and Max plans, as well as Team and Enterprise customers with premium seats that include Claude Code.

To get started, developers need to download Xcode 26 from the Mac App Store, navigate to Intelligence settings in preferences and sign in with their Claude account. Once enabled, the integration brings Anthropic’s AI capabilities to Apple’s development ecosystem, making Xcode a more powerful environment for both individual programmers and larger teams.

The move signals a growing focus on embedding AI coding assistants directly into mainstream development environments, just like Copilot for VS Code users and Gemini CLI in Zed.