Anthropic just launched a web search API that lets its Claude AI models search across the web in real time. This new tool marks a key shift in how AI systems access and use current information—and what that means for how we build AI applications.
The API works with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Claude 3.5 Haiku models, with pricing set at $10 per 1,000 searches plus standard token costs.
What Makes This Web Search API Different
Most search tools just take a user’s query and find matching web pages. Anthropic’s approach does something much smarter. When Claude gets a request that needs fresh data, it first figures out if web search would help. If so, it crafts a search query, pulls results, studies them, and gives back an answer with links to sources.
What sets this apart is how Claude can run multiple searches in sequence. It uses what it learns from early results to shape its next queries—much like a human researcher would. Developers can control this process through the max_uses setting to keep costs in check and prevent the AI from going down research rabbit holes.
This matters for both the quality and cost of AI applications. A single, well-crafted search often works better than blindly passing user questions to a search engine. And by thinking before searching, Claude helps prevent wasted queries.
Real-World Uses That Go Beyond Basic Search
The most exciting part isn’t the search itself but what it enables:
Financial tools that stay current: Banks and investment firms can build apps that check stock prices, track market trends, and flag new regulations without setting up complex data pipelines.
Legal research that doesn’t miss a beat: Law firms can create tools that find recent court decisions and legal updates, making sure their advice rests on the latest precedents.
Developer tools that know what’s new: Technical teams can build assistants that pull the most recent API docs, GitHub changes, and tech updates when helping with code.
Research agents that work like analysts: Companies can set up AI systems that grab the latest reports, track competitors, and study market shifts to support key business choices.
The common thread? These aren’t just search results—they’re tools that think about what to search for, judge what they find, and put that knowledge to work.
How to Make the Most of Web Search in Your Applications
For developers looking to use this API, thinking about a few key factors will lead to better results:
Search depth vs. speed tradeoffs: Setting the max_uses parameter too low limits Claude to quick, shallow searches. Setting it too high might create more thorough results but takes longer and costs more. The right balance depends on your specific use case.
Domain controls for better results: The API lets you set both allow lists (domains Claude can search) and block lists (sites to avoid). This isn’t just about avoiding bad content—it’s also about making search more focused and useful. For technical questions, you might limit searches to GitHub, Stack Overflow, and official docs. For medical information, you might stick to trusted health sites.
Building trust with citations: Each web-based answer comes with links to sources. This matters most for apps that need to show their work—like legal research tools, medical applications, or financial advisors where users need to check the facts.
Cost management strategies: At $10 per 1,000 searches, costs can add up fast for high-volume applications. Smart developers will build logic that decides when a search is truly needed versus when Claude’s built-in knowledge is enough.
How This Fits Into the Changing Search Landscape
This launch comes at a key moment. Traditional search is showing cracks—Apple’s Eddy Cue recently noted that Safari searches fell last month for the first time in the browser’s 22-year history. About 19% of web users already use AI for search tasks, according to SOCi’s Consumer Behavior Index.
This shift makes sense when you look at how people actually use search. Most don’t want links—they want answers. AI assistants that pull information from multiple sites and present it clearly skip the work of visiting different pages and piecing facts together.
For businesses that have spent years on SEO, this means big changes. Being cited by AI assistants may soon matter more than ranking high in traditional search. Content that gives clear, factual information might win even without the usual SEO tactics.
What Developers Should Do Next
If you’re building AI applications, this API opens up new paths. Here’s how to make the most of it:
Start small and test: Add web search to one part of your app where fresh data clearly adds value. Track how often Claude decides to search versus using its built-in knowledge.
Watch the costs: Build controls that limit searches to cases where they truly help. For many apps, a mix of Claude’s base knowledge plus targeted searches will work best.
Think about source quality: Use domain controls to make sure information comes from sites you trust. This helps both with accuracy and with building user trust.
Plan for content challenges: As these tools grow, websites may change how they present information or limit AI access. Build your app to handle cases where search results change or become less available.
The most successful apps won’t just bolt on web search—they’ll blend it smoothly into the user flow so that getting fresh information feels like a natural part of the AI experience.
The Bigger Picture
Anthropic’s web search API isn’t just another tool—it’s part of a major shift in how we find and use information. The line between asking questions, searching the web, and getting answers is fading. For users, this means less time hunting for facts and more time using them.
For developers, it means a chance to build smarter apps that know when they need fresh data and how to get it. And for businesses, it means thinking about how to make sure their content works well not just for human eyes but for the AI systems that will soon be the gateway to much of the web.
Want to try this yourself? The web search API is now live on the Anthropic API for Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Claude 3.5 Haiku. It’s also available in Claude Code, which remains in beta as a research preview.
As AI continues to change how we work with information, tools like this show us what’s coming next: systems that don’t just answer questions but know how to learn what they don’t know—a skill that until now has been uniquely human.
Think about how you might use this in your next project. Could your app work better with access to fresh web data? What problems could you solve if your AI assistant knew how to research on its own?
