xAI has officially announced the launch of its web search API—Live Search, providing developers with a powerful tool that enables the Grok model to perform real-time searches from diverse data sources such as the web, X platform, popular news, and RSS feeds. This feature marks another significant advancement in xAI's efforts to build an intelligent and real-time AI application ecosystem.
Live Search: Real-Time Data Support for AI Applications
The Live Search API by xAI is designed to provide AI applications with the capability to search the internet dynamically and in real time. Through this API, Grok can access the latest information from multiple sources including the X platform, web pages, news, and RSS feeds, significantly enhancing its ability to handle dynamic information. Notably, the Live Search function allows Grok to autonomously decide whether to execute a search, when to search, and what to search for—all without requiring manual intervention from users. This intelligent management of search logic greatly reduces the workload for developers.
Currently, the Live Search API is in its free public beta phase, allowing all developers to use it for free until June 5, 2025. This initiative provides developers with ample opportunities to test and explore the potential of the API in practical applications.
Core Features and Advantages
The core advantage of the Live Search API lies in its high flexibility and intelligent design. Its main features include:
Autonomous search decision-making: Grok can intelligently determine whether external data needs to be searched based on conversational context, without requiring developers to manually configure search logic.
Diverse data sources: Supports data retrieval from multiple channels including the X platform, web pages, news, and RSS feeds, ensuring comprehensive and timely information.
Fine-grained control: Developers can flexibly control search behavior through the search_parameters parameter, such as setting time ranges, result quantity limits, and specifying domains (including the X platform). Additionally, whether to include cited content in search results can also be freely chosen.
Efficient integration: The Live Search API is fully compatible with xAI’s existing REST API, supporting OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs. Developers can quickly integrate it by simply adjusting the base URL and API key.
These features make the Live Search API particularly suitable for AI applications requiring real-time data support, such as intelligent chatbots, AI agents, and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems.
Developer-friendly and Free Beta Attracting Attention
The launch of the Live Search API by xAI has garnered significant attention within the developer community. According to AIbase, the API's free beta program offers developers a low-barrier entry opportunity. Developers only need to register an account on the xAI official website (console.x.ai) to obtain an API key and start building applications. During the beta period, xAI provides each account with a $25 monthly credit, further reducing the cost of testing for developers.
In addition, the Live Search API documentation provides detailed parameter descriptions and usage examples. For instance, developers can control the number of search results using the max_search_results parameter or toggle search functionality using the search_parameters.mode switch. This transparent and flexible design offers great convenience for developers.
The release of the Live Search API further solidifies xAI's competitiveness in the AI ecosystem. Compared to traditional search engine APIs like Google and Bing, as well as domestic AI search APIs like BoCha, xAI's Live Search stands out with its unique advantages in data source integration and intelligent search logic. Especially in Chinese content search and data compliance, xAI's API provides high-quality text summaries and filtered search results through deep integration with the X platform, making it particularly suitable for domestic developers' needs.
Looking ahead, xAI plans to further expand the capabilities of Live Search, including supporting multimodal search (such as image processing) and broader data source integration. AIbase believes that as the Grok model continues to iterate and the API ecosystem improves, xAI is poised to occupy an important position in the field of AI-driven real-time information processing.
Access: https://docs.x.ai/docs/guides/live-search