Google Kills Custom Search API on Jan 1, 2027

(thenextgennexus.com)

47 points | by alexey-salmin 2 hours ago

15 comments

  • gallerdude 1 hour ago
    Why would you use AI to write this post? If you can’t bother to write it, why should I bother to read it?
    • VladVladikoff 56 minutes ago
      We really are speed running any percent to the destruction of decent quality technology.
    • mpalczewski 1 hour ago
      use ai to read it. we're increasingly moving to world of ai reading the ai slop that someone else wrote to basically get back their original prompt.
      • fluoridation 59 minutes ago
        What even is the point if transmitting two or three sentences doesn't dump five kilos of CO2 into the atmosphere?
    • bogota 45 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • alexey-salmin 2 hours ago
    https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview

      Note: The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Vertex AI Search is a favorable alternative for searching up to 50 domains. Alternatively, if your use case necessitates full web search, contact us to express your interest in and get more information about our full web search solution.
    
      Existing Custom Search JSON API customers have until January 1, 2027 to transition to an alternative solution.
  • topherPedersen 1 hour ago
    That's surprising to me that they would kill something like this off, because LLMs are going to need search APIs. Why wouldn't Google want to be the search engine all of the AIs use? While we (people) may not need search engines as much as we once did, LLMs probably do need search capabilities. I could be wrong, maybe reply if I am, but don't LLMs typically need to search for information? For example, when I ask ChatGPT some obscure question about my Behringer RD-8 drum machine, an LLM isn't going to know the answer based on its original training will it? (even if the manual was out in the public internet when the model was trained)? Under the hood its searching for information and then processing it extremelly quickly right? These LLMs don't just "know" the answer do they?
    • Octoth0rpe 57 minutes ago
      > because LLMs are going to need search APIs

      Yes. But why would they provide that to their competitors? The winning move here is to allow gemini, but forbid everyone else. That's not a bad moat.

    • noosphr 58 minutes ago
      Google wants to be the AI that everyone uses, not the plumbing.
    • Maken 55 minutes ago
      Maybe they intend for Gemini to be the only chatbot with built-in access to internet search.
  • oompty 50 minutes ago
    Anyone know if that will affect stuff like Duckduckgo search for its !g fallback or do they have custom deals?
    • Georgelemental 48 minutes ago
      Isn't that just a redirect to google.com? Shouldn't be affected
    • efilife 46 minutes ago
      it won't, it appends your query like this: google.com/search?q={query}

      you could code this yourself

  • hartator 20 minutes ago
    The article forgot to mention that Goggle is suing us, SerpApi the main alternative.

    Our take: https://serpapi.com/blog/google-v-serpapi-motion-to-dismiss-...

  • remywang 52 minutes ago
    Please link to https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview instead of whatever this is.
  • Krutonium 1 hour ago
    All I'm sayin' is that Searx exists and can provide JSON.
    • edm0nd 1 hour ago
      SearX isnt developed anymore. The main dev created Hister to replace it.
      • KomoD 59 minutes ago
        SearXNG is though, and Hister is a different thing, not really a replacement.
  • faangguyindia 1 hour ago
    I was using it for an ai agent i built for my use as home assistant. It seems like many competing companies might be doing same.
  • spottedmarley 1 hour ago
    In the search game the board has changed
  • ethancanterbury 1 hour ago
    Microsoft already did this with the Bing Search API back in August 2025, killed both the free and paid tiers with nothing that drops in to replace it.
    • tmpz22 1 hour ago
      Not affiliated - would Kagis search API be a drop in replacement?
      • charcircuit 1 hour ago
        Unlike Kagi, Brave Search's API has a free tier (1000 searches per month).
  • ChrisArchitect 1 hour ago
    Previously in January:

    Updates to our web search products and Programmable Search Engine capabilities

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46730436

  • charcircuit 1 hour ago
    Why would they do this as AI companies and agents have driven demand for other companies to want to integrate search into their products?
    • topherPedersen 58 minutes ago
      I commented the exact same thing. Couldn't Google save itself by becoming the search engine all of the AIs use? That's an area where I would imagine they have a massive moat & would be extremely difficult for startups to compete.
  • ShadeMe 56 minutes ago
    [flagged]
  • greg9381 56 minutes ago
    [dead]