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Real-time search API purpose-built for AI agents and RAG pipelines, now owned by Nebius Group.

Nathan Kessler
By Nathan KesslerUpdated

Each tool is evaluated against our methodology using public docs, vendor demos, and hands-on testing.

AI search APIs are the infrastructure layer that gives large language models access to current web information. Unlike traditional search engines, these APIs return semantically relevant, structured results optimized for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and AI agent workflows. They're essential for any AI product that needs to answer questions about the real world beyond its training data.

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Features

JS Rendering
Structured Output
Open Source
Self-Hosted Option
Pricing:FreemiumSee pricing →

Editorial assessment

The default search API for the LangChain/LlamaIndex ecosystem with 3M+ monthly SDK downloads. Became the poster child for AI search with a 15-month seed-to-$400M exit. The Nebius acquisition raises valid questions about long-term independence and pricing – when a cloud giant owns your search API, expect strategic alignment shifts.

How Tavily compares

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Exa offers semantically richer results via embeddings, better for discovery use cases where keyword matching falls short.

Linkup

Linkup positions as the ethical alternative with publisher licensing, appealing if data provenance matters to your stack.

Comparisons

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