Web Search for AI
Version 12 published Results
developer-tools
Brave Search API
Live web search for agents with richer snippets and date metadata.
59.6% top-32.00 extraction$5/1k0 errors
TL;DR — our verdictUpdated September 2026 · 6 test artifacts
Strong search layer, but still provisional
Where it wins
- You need a pure search API that returns ranked live-web results for agents or RAG-over-the-web features.
- You care about richer snippets and published-date metadata without doing a second crawl.
- You want a lower-latency alternative to Serper-style result-list search.
Main limitation
- You need a single-call answer API with citations; this run did not test Brave's Answers API.
Pricing (verified plans)
Search plan $5.00 / 1k queries
Strongest test artifacts
Our take
Brave Search API looks like a strong pure-search option for agent retrieval: it put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, delivered the benchmark's best extraction score once `extra_snippets` was enabled, and returned published dates on every response with zero errors. The caveats are that this is still a single run, multi-source queries were weak, and the separate Answers API was not tested.
Benchmark participation
Explore Brave Search API in our public benchmarks.
In-Depth Review
Our detailed analysis of Brave Search API — features, performance, and real-world testing.
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AI Demos Team
Expert Reviewer
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Live Web RetrievalSolid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.59.6/100▾
Live Web Retrieval
Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.
Test Summary
Feature tested: Live Web Retrieval
Result: Partial (59.6/100) — Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.
Feature tested: Live Web Retrieval
Result: Partial (59.6/100)
Verdict: Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.
Expected behavior: Searches the live web for a plain query string and returns ranked results suitable for agent retrieval. In this run it was tested on the frozen ground-truth query set with `count=10` and `extra_snippets=true` in `ap-south-1`.
Test case: Text/code file → Text/code file
Input type: Text/code file
Input used: Input artifact (Text/code file): INPUT: Frozen ground-truth query set, same query string for every tool, top-k/count=10, live web search via `/res/v1/web/search`, run region `ap-south-1`. — QUERY-SET-ground-truth.csv
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Brave's same-query retrieval put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, with 38.3% top-1 and 66.0% top-10 across 47 answerable queries; 0 errors. — BRAVE-per-query-output.md
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text/code file): INPUT: Frozen ground-truth query set, same query string for every tool, top-k/count=10, live web search via `/res/v1/web/search`, run region `ap-south-1`. — QUERY-SET-ground-truth.csv
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Brave's same-query retrieval put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, with 38.3% top-1 and 66.0% top-10 across 47 answerable queries; 0 errors. — BRAVE-per-query-output.md
What changed: Text/code file transformed into Text/code file
Why it matters / Conclusion: Good general retrieval, but the headline ranking still needs a stability rerun before treating it as final.
Searches the live web for a plain query string and returns ranked results suitable for agent retrieval. In this run it was tested on the frozen ground-truth query set with `count=10` and `extra_snippets=true` in `ap-south-1`.
↓→
Bottom Line
Good general retrieval, but the headline ranking still needs a stability rerun before treating it as final.
Rich Result ExcerptsBest-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.2/2▾
Rich Result Excerpts
Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.
Test Summary
Feature tested: Rich Result Excerpts
Result: Passed (2/2) — Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.
Feature tested: Rich Result Excerpts
Result: Passed (2/2)
Verdict: Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.
Expected behavior: Returns enough excerpt text to make answer-bearing passages usable without a second crawl. The benchmark notes that `extra_snippets=true` closes the gap between Brave's base descriptions and full-content tools on content-depth queries.
Test case: Text prompt → Text prompt
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text prompt): Output
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text prompt): Output
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text prompt
Why it matters / Conclusion: This is the main reason Brave is more usable than snippet-only search APIs for agent workflows.
Returns enough excerpt text to make answer-bearing passages usable without a second crawl. The benchmark notes that `extra_snippets=true` closes the gap between Brave's base descriptions and full-content tools on content-depth queries.
INPUT
INPUT: Content-depth block Q36–Q41, with `extra_snippets=true` enabled so the search results include additional excerpts.
↓→
OUTPUT
Full marks 2/2 on all six Q36–Q41 content-depth queries; median 1,334 chars mean content per query; max-per-query median 2,117 chars; this is the benchmark's joint-best extraction quality.
Bottom Line
This is the main reason Brave is more usable than snippet-only search APIs for agent workflows.
Conservative Unanswerable-Query ResponsesBetter than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.▾
Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses
Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.
Test Summary
Feature tested: Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses
Result: Partial — Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.
Feature tested: Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses
Result: Partial
Verdict: Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.
Expected behavior: On the five unanswerable probes in this run, Brave generally stayed generic rather than inventing a specific date or number. It did not fabricate a Brave-specific answer on the hard probes, but because this is search-only, it never emits a true abstention.
Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Stays generic — general SOC2 audit-timeline content, no fabricated Serper-specific date. — BRAVE-raw-Q48.json
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Stays generic — general SOC2 audit-timeline content, no fabricated Serper-specific date. — BRAVE-raw-Q48.json
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file
Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces the same '$6.3M Est. ARR' figure seen in other tools, indicating a shared corpus artifact rather than a Brave-specific hallucination. — BRAVE-raw-Q49.json
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces the same '$6.3M Est. ARR' figure seen in other tools, indicating a shared corpus artifact rather than a Brave-specific hallucination. — BRAVE-raw-Q49.json
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file
Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces Exa's real '$5 per 1,000 requests' Pro-plan figure without misattributing it to Enterprise. — BRAVE-raw-Q50.json
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces Exa's real '$5 per 1,000 requests' Pro-plan figure without misattributing it to Enterprise. — BRAVE-raw-Q50.json
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file
Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic index-size-estimation content; no Olostep-specific number invented. — BRAVE-raw-Q51.json
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic index-size-estimation content; no Olostep-specific number invented. — BRAVE-raw-Q51.json
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file
Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file
Input type: Text prompt
Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic Linkup docs/marketing content; does not surface the 'billions of pages a day' claim. — BRAVE-raw-Q52.json
Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input
Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic Linkup docs/marketing content; does not surface the 'billions of pages a day' claim. — BRAVE-raw-Q52.json
What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file
Why it matters / Conclusion: For a search API, this is a solid non-fabricating result, but it is not a true abstaining answer mode.
On the five unanswerable probes in this run, Brave generally stayed generic rather than inventing a specific date or number. It did not fabricate a Brave-specific answer on the hard probes, but because this is search-only, it never emits a true abstention.
INPUT
INPUT: Q48 — unanswerable probe 'Serper SOC2 date'
↓→
INPUT
INPUT: Q49 — unanswerable probe 'Jina ARR'
↓→
INPUT
INPUT: Q50 — unanswerable probe 'Exa Enterprise price'
↓→
INPUT
INPUT: Q51 — unanswerable probe 'Olostep index size'
↓→
INPUT
INPUT: Q52 — unanswerable probe 'Linkup index size'
↓→
Bottom Line
For a search API, this is a solid non-fabricating result, but it is not a true abstaining answer mode.
Brave Search API pricing
Search-only plan; separate Answers API was not tested.
Search plan
$5.00 / 1k queries
Published list rate; roughly $0.26 for this 52-query run. Brave's $5/month free credit covers about 1,000 queries.
The run recorded list pricing, not a billed invoice. The response body exposed no credits/cost field.
✓ Use This If
●You need a pure search API that returns ranked live-web results for agents or RAG-over-the-web features.
●You care about richer snippets and published-date metadata without doing a second crawl.
●You want a lower-latency alternative to Serper-style result-list search.
✕ Skip This If
●You need a single-call answer API with citations; this run did not test Brave's Answers API.
●You need strong multi-source synthesis from one query; top-3 only hit 17% on multi-source queries.
●You need a stability-confirmed benchmark number; Brave still needs a rerun.
●You need a tool that truly abstains on no-answer prompts; Brave Search API is search-only and never emits abstention.
Across the 47 answerable queries, Brave scored 38.3% top-1, 59.6% top-3, and 66.0% top-10.
Yes. On the six content-depth queries, extraction quality was full marks (2/2) across the block, and the run notes say `extra_snippets=true` is what made the difference.
Not in this run. The adapter exercised `/res/v1/web/search`, which returned `web.results[]` only. No `answer_text` or `citations` field was present, so answer-mode citation accuracy was not applicable.
The published Search plan rate in this report is $5.00 per 1,000 queries. The notes also say Brave's $5/month free credit covers about 1,000 queries.
Yes. The report says published-date coverage was 52/52, using `page_age` or `age` in live responses. The caveat is that this field is undocumented in Brave's official schema.
Multi-source queries. The report gives Brave 17% top-3 on multi-source, the same weakness called out for Serper.
Not yet. The report explicitly says the 59.6% top-3 figure is still a single-run result and should be treated as provisional until a rerun confirms it.
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