Google updated public developer documentation on Sept. 9 for its partner-only Web Search Service API, clarifying its functionality for full-web search results as older search APIs face deprecation.
The update provides more details on a solution for programmatic partners, a move that follows Google’s January announcement regarding a full-web offering for this specific user group.
Access to the Web Search Service API is restricted to those with a client ID linked to an existing partner agreement, according to the updated documentation. Each request to the API also requires a Google Cloud project and a valid API key.
The API offers a “full web search” method, capable of returning up to 20 JSON results per request. Users can apply various filters, including language, country, date range and SafeSearch, or sort results by date.
Google’s documentation does not specify how organizations can become programmatic partners, nor does it detail associated costs or query limits for the Web Search Service API.
This development comes as Google prepares to discontinue its Custom Search JSON API and the Programmable Search Element for more than 50 domains or full-web search. Both services are scheduled for deprecation by Jan. 1, 2027.
The Web Search Service API is positioned as a potential replacement for full-web search needs previously met by these older APIs. However, a complete migration path for current users of the Custom Search JSON API and Programmable Search Element remains unclear, according to industry observers.
Google had previously indicated that a full-web solution for partners would be provided, and the recent documentation update offers the first substantive details on this offering.
Source: Search Engine Journal
