⚡

Developer 3s Key Decision Metrics

TL;DR Verdict
🏆 Benchmark Rank72s 必看
Top Tier Benchmark
Full Leaderboard→
💰 Cost & Plans比价
Providers: ceramic default $0.
Compare Plans↗
🛠️ Ecosystem & IDERules
ai-gateway · web-search-api
Setup IDE Rules↗

On 2026-10-02 Cloudflare launched Web Search API (open beta): agents query the live web through AI Gateway and get structured titles/URLs/snippets. Default Ceramic.ai ($0.25/1k, ZDR); Exa ($7) and Linkup ($5) also available. Partners meet Verified-bot rules; REST, Workers env.AI.websearch(), BYOK, list pricing with no markup.

Key Takeaways

  • ✓Announced 2026-10-02; docs https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/ (open beta)
  • ✓Providers: ceramic default $0.25/1k ZDR; exa $7/1k with highlights; linkup $5/1k fast mode
  • ✓Surfaces: REST /ai/websearch/ and Workers env.AI.websearch(); AI Gateway credits, no markup; BYOK supported
  • ✓Crawlers meet Verified-bot rules and return source links; Server Tools for web search coming
  • ✓Replaces guess-then-curl URL fetches for live grounding (e.g. Birthday Week docs)
🧭

Finished reading? Explore benchmark rankings & pricing

Real-world SWE-bench scores & $20/mo vs API cost break-even calculator

🏆 Leaderboard→💰 Compare Plans↗
🔗

Project Links & Resources

Direct Access
Direct access to official project resources and documentation
📝
Introducing Web Search API via AI Gateway — Cloudflare Blog
blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-web-search-api/
↗
📖
Cloudflare Web Search API docs
developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/
↗
📖
Web Search providers (Ceramic / Exa / Linkup)
developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/providers/
↗
📖
AI Gateway overview
developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/
↗
🌐
AI Gateway 原生 provider web_search 工具代理
developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/usage/web-search/
↗
🔬

In-Depth Technical Analysis

Core Background & Industry Pain Points

Agents often guess a URL then curl—and hit 404s—especially during fast release weeks. Post-cutoff docs and APIs need live grounding. On 2026-10-02 Cloudflare launched Web Search API (open beta): search-first structured results on AI Gateway instead of URL gambling.

Architecture Highlights & Internals

Searches share AI Gateway logging, analytics, billing, and access control with inference. Surfaces: REST POST .../ai/websearch/ and Workers env.AI.websearch({gatewayId,query,provider,limit}). Providers ceramic (default), exa, linkup share one response shape. Partners commit to Verified-bot rules and return source links. Pay via Gateway credits at list price (no markup) or BYOK; ZDR flagged per provider. Server Tools for web search are on the roadmap.

Authoritative Benchmarks & Measured Scores

No unified quality/latency leaderboard—do not invent. Pricing anchors from Providers: Ceramic 40B+ page index, $0.25/1k, ~8k-char descriptions, ZDR; Exa $7/1k auto+highlights; Linkup $5/1k fast. Separate older docs cover proxying provider-native web_search tools—do not confuse with this partner API.

Developer Hands-on Guide

Read the blog + https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/; call REST or Workers binding; pick ceramic for cheap volume, exa for snippets, linkup for fast cites; use BYOK when needed; watch Gateway logs; collapse custom tools once Server Tools ship.