# How can I give my AI agent live web search? Add live web search to AI agents through Agentik. By [Agentik](/about.md). Updated: 2026-10-19. An AI agent needs a search tool when its answer depends on information outside the model’s stored knowledge. Agentik exposes supported search operations through the existing MCP or REST connection. Choose an endpoint by the evidence the task needs: ranked URLs, semantic discovery, recent coverage or an answer with citations. Inspect the exact schema and price before running the query. - [Connect Claude](/connect/claude.md) ## Choose the output before choosing the provider A ranked web result is a candidate source, not a verified fact. A search API may return a title, URL and short extract, while a research-oriented endpoint can return additional text or a synthesized answer. Decide whether the agent needs source discovery, full reading or both. The catalog includes serper/search and exa/search. Their input fields and search modes differ, so the agent should inspect each tool rather than assume that every service accepts the same query parameters. Use the provider comparison guide for a controlled evaluation. ## Make locale and freshness part of the request Specify the country, language and period that matter to the question. Use those filters only when the selected schema supports them. Preserve the retrieval time separately from a source’s publication date; a newly retrieved page may contain old information. For an important claim, read the underlying source and check that it supports the wording. Search-result snippets can omit qualifiers, and multiple results may repeat the same original announcement. Preserve the original source rather than counting syndicated copies as independent evidence. ## Bound the search before expanding it Start with a small result set and explicit acceptance criteria. Expand when the first pass lacks coverage, not simply because a larger limit is available. Inspect whether requested results, provider credits or another unit determines the reservation and eventual charge. A missing fact should remain missing until another source supports it. The agent can propose another query or page-reading operation, explain its purpose and obtain any additional spending authority required by the task. ## What you pay for Supported paid tools use Agentik's prepaid workspace balance. Inspect the selected tool's pricing units and maximum before approving a run; a reservation can differ from its settled charge. Funding fees, taxes and your model's usage are separate. Current terms are on the Pricing and Billing pages linked below. ## Plan a sourced vendor lookup For a vendor comparison, search for official product and pricing pages before reading selected URLs. This is a proposed research contract, not an executed result. Plan a sourced vendor lookup | Input | Decision | | --- | --- | | Question | Which vendors meet the required feature in the target country? | | Candidate sources | Prefer official product, pricing and documentation pages. | | Evidence to retain | Query, URL, title, retrieval time and supporting passage. | | Stop condition | Every shortlisted vendor has evidence or an explicit unknown. | ## A prompt to try [Connect Claude](/connect/claude.md), then use this prompt with your connected assistant. Keep credentials in the authorized connection. ```text Research [question] for [country and language] using Agentik web search. Discover candidates and inspect_tool for search mode, schema, result limits and pricing. Ask for the required period if it is missing. Propose a small query set and a maximum before paid calls. After approval, retain URLs and retrieval times, read the sources behind material claims and separate verified findings from missing evidence. Do not treat a search snippet as confirmation. ``` ## A related workflow [Market research](/market-research.md). The companies in the space, their pricing pages, Google search demand for the category, and what buyers say on Hacker News and X. Example tool-call maximum: at most $1.08. One market in the United States, 25 companies found, 10 pricing pages read, 50 keywords measured, 5 trend terms, 50 Hacker News comments and 50 posts on X. This catalog-based reservation maximum belongs to the playbook’s inputs, separately from this guide’s worked example. It is not an executed charge. Optional calls, funding fees, taxes and model usage are excluded. - [exa/search](/providers/exa/search.md) - [firecrawl/scrape](/providers/firecrawl/scrape.md) - [browser-use/run-task](/providers/browser-use/run-task.md) [View every step, input and tool in the playbook](/market-research.md). ## Questions ### Does live search guarantee an up-to-date answer? No. Retrieval time, publication date and the period described are different. Inspect the underlying source and report the date relevant to the claim. ### Can I switch search providers without another signup? Supported provider operations can use the same Agentik connection. Inspect the replacement tool’s schema, pricing and output before switching. ## Sources and next steps Agentik publishes this guide. The editorial update date is 2026-10-19; provider terms and availability can change. - [Agentik search guide](/docs/guides/web-search.md) - [Exa search API](https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search) - [Search provider comparison](/compare-ai-agent-tool-providers.md) ### Continue with Agentik - [Explore web search tools](/tools/web-search.md) - [Search and page reading](/ai-agent-search-and-scrape-workflow.md) - [Connect Claude](/connect/claude.md) ## Related guides - [Compare providers for the same agent task](/compare-ai-agent-tool-providers.md) - [Search and read with one agent](/ai-agent-search-and-scrape-workflow.md) - [Source provenance for agent outputs](/ai-agent-tool-data-provenance.md) [Browse all agent tool guides](/agent-tool-guides.md) --- [HTML page](/web-search-api-for-ai-agents) · [Agent index](/llms.txt)