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Grok · xAI · Browse the web and answer with cited sources

Web search

Grok (xAI) searches and reads the web server-side, restricted to or excluding chosen domains, understands images on request, and answers with citations. Price: $0.005 per web search Grok performs plus model tokens (grok-4.3 $1.25 in / $2.50 out per million, grok-4.6 $2 / $6); a typical call costs $0.02 to $0.05. Billed at the exact cost xAI reports for the call; the quote is the upper bound.

Usage based xAIWeb searchxai/web-searchListed

Activation pending; your agent will see it as unavailable until then.

Use this tool with your agent

Give this to your agent
Use my connected Agentik MCP server. I want to use the tool xai/web-search (Grok web search: browse the web and answer with cited sources). Call inspect_tool with {"tool_id": "xai/web-search"} first and tell me the price before anything runs. Ask me for the inputs it needs; never invent values, IDs or file URLs. When I confirm, call run_tool with tool_id "xai/web-search" and my inputs, follow it with get_run if it is still running, and give me the result and the price Agentik reports. If the tool is unavailable, say so and use discover_tools to propose an alternative.
Show the prompt

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Codex: your agent takes it from there, and shows the price before it runs.

Parameters

NameTypeRequiredDescription
querystringYesThe question or task for Grok. Ask for citations to get post or page links.
instructionsstringNoSystem instructions: tone, format, language, what to focus on.
modelstringNogrok-4.3 is cheaper and usually available; grok-4.6 is the strongest and can be at capacity. Options: grok-4.3, grok-4.6.
max_output_tokensintegerNoCap on answer plus reasoning tokens.
max_cost_usdnumberNoOptional spending cap reserved for this call (not sent to xAI). Default reservation: $0.15 for grok-4.3, $0.30 for grok-4.6, plus $0.000006 per requested output token.
allowed_domainsstring[]NoOnly these domains (max 5). Exclusive with excluded_domains.
excluded_domainsstring[]NoNever these domains (max 5).
enable_image_understandingbooleanNoLet Grok look at images on pages (more tokens).

How your agent calls it

First inspect_tool for the current schema and price, then run_tool with the published example after confirming your inputs:

{
  "tool_id": "xai/web-search",
  "input": {
    "query": "In one sentence, what is the Model Context Protocol? Cite one source.",
    "max_output_tokens": 200
  }
}

Price and billing

Price
Usage based
Model
Usage based
Detail
Billed at the cost the provider reports for the call, never above $5. Your agent sees the maximum before running.
  • The provider’s price, 0% markup.
  • One prepaid balance for every provider; your agent sees the price before it runs.
  • Pay for measured usage; unused reservations are released.