Evolving Programmable Search Engine
Programmable Search Engine helps hundreds of partners – from academic institutions to retail websites – serve their users’ search needs on their sites.
Looking forward, we’ll be evolving our offerings to provide more focused and capable solutions for every use case. This evolution is designed to ensure a high-quality experience for users and partners.
A clearer path for every search need
We're simplifying and modernizing our offerings so you can choose the best tool for your goals.
For site-specific search: The Programmable Search Element (the “Search Element”) is being simplified to be the best tool for creating rich, focused search experiences on your own websites. This solution is intended for website owners who cater focused content to a specific audience.
For enterprise-grade needs: For advanced features like AI-powered conversational search and enterprise-grade grounding, we continue to offer Google Vertex AI Search as a solution.
For full web search needs: We understand some partners have use cases that require querying beyond a designated subset of domains. Our full web search solution is available for those requiring our entire index; please complete this form to register your interest .
Planning your transition to more powerful tools
We are excited to help you harness the full potential of these evolving solutions. As you plan for the future, here is your path forward for the transition, which can be completed any time between now and January 1, 2027.
“Sites to search” feature for users of the Search Element querying 50 or fewer domains: The Search Element remains the optimal solution for delivering highly optimized and focused results. With this free feature, you can designate a maximum number of 50 domains for site-specific searches.
“Search the entire web” option for users of the Search Element querying more than 50 domains: If your use case necessitates querying more than 50 domains or is set to “Search the entire web”, contact us to express your interest in the more advanced full web search solution and get more information about its capabilities and pricing. Your transition to an alternative solution needs to be completed by January 1, 2027.
For users of the Custom Search JSON API: Vertex AI Search is a favorable alternative for up to 50 domains. Alternatively, if your use case necessitates full web search, contact us to express your interest in and get more information about our full web search solution. Your transition to an alternative solution needs to be completed by January 1, 2027.
To prepare for this transition, as of today, all new engines must be configured to use the “Sites to search” feature. This change impacts only new engines; existing engines are not affected and can continue to use the “Search the entire web” option until January 1, 2027.
This evolution will help us create more focused products, so we can provide a better search experience for our developer partners. We’re excited to build the future of search with you.
Thank you,
The Google Programmable Search Engine Team
