Migrating off a retired search API

    Bing Search API alternative

    Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025. Desearch gives your application a REST search endpoint that returns ranked web results as structured JSON.

    Start for freeView Documentation
    Aug 11, 2025
    Bing APIs retired
    GET /web
    Drop-in search endpoint
    JSON
    Titles, URLs, snippets
    $0.10/100 searches
    Checked-in usage rate

    Web result preview

    The response shape your Bing integration expected.

    GET/web
    Agent query

    bing search api replacement

    result title
    source URL
    result snippet
    usage metadata

    Response contract

    titles
    source URLs
    snippets
    cost metadata

    What happened

    The Bing Search APIs were retired on August 11, 2025.

    Microsoft’s lifecycle announcement states that Bing Search and Bing Custom Search were retired on August 11, 2025, that existing instances were decommissioned, and that the product is no longer available for new sign-ups. The same announcement covers Bing Spell Check, Bing Autosuggest, and Bing Visual Search.

    Microsoft directed customers to Grounding with Bing Search in Azure AI Agents, which returns web data to an agent rather than search results to your application. If your code called the REST endpoint and parsed the JSON itself, that is a different integration shape, and a search API is the closer replacement.

    Source: Bing Search APIs Retiring on August 11, 2025 — Microsoft Lifecycle. Checked September 16, 2026.

    Migration map

    What each Bing call becomes.

    Desearch is a separate API with its own parameters and response schema, so this is a re-integration rather than a base-URL swap. The endpoint reference has the exact contract for each request.

    What you did with BingDesearch equivalent
    Bing Web Search — ranked web results as JSONGET /web returns ranked titles, URLs, and snippets as JSONGET /web reference
    Bing Web Search with an LLM summarizing the resultsPOST /desearch/ai/search answers a prompt across sources you select, with an optional summarySearch API guide
    Fetching a result page to read its contentsGET /web/crawl extracts the contents of a supplied URLExtract API guide
    Tracking spend against a subscription tierBillable responses carry cost_usd, usage_count, and service, plus X-Desearch-* headersPricing and billing

    Web Search is metered at $0.10 per 100 searches and AI Search at $0.40 per 1000 items on the checked-in rate card. Compare a complete task — searches, extracted pages, and any generated answer — against what your Bing tier used to cover. Current account rates are in pricing.

    First request

    Replace the call, then check the response.

    Create an API key, run one query, and compare the fields against what your Bing parser expected before you change application code.

    Get API keySee the Web Search API
    curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.desearch.ai/web?query=site:learn.microsoft.com+bing+search+api' \
  --header 'Authorization: $DESEARCH_API_KEY'

    Still comparing

    Weighing other search APIs too?

    Every comparison lists the official sources behind it and the date it was reviewed.

    Bing Search API migration questions

    Retirement dates, response shape, and what changes in your code.

    Microsoft's lifecycle announcement states that Bing Search and Bing Custom Search were retired on August 11, 2025, that existing instances were decommissioned, and that the product is no longer available for new customer sign-ups. The announcement also covers Bing Spell Check, Bing Autosuggest, and Bing Visual Search.

    Microsoft pointed customers to Grounding with Bing Search as part of Azure AI Agents, which supplies real-time public web data to an agent's responses. That is a different integration shape from calling a REST search endpoint and parsing the JSON in your own application.

    GET /web returns structured web results for a query, including result titles, source URLs, snippets, and response usage metadata. Billable responses also carry the request cost in USD.

    No. Desearch has its own request parameters and response schema, so moving over means re-integrating rather than changing a base URL. Review the GET /web endpoint reference, run one query, and map the fields your parser expects before changing application code.

    No. Desearch runs its own retrieval network on Bittensor Subnet 22 rather than reselling another engine's index. The network page explains how requests are served.

    Yes. Attaching a card when you sign up adds $5 in credits automatically, which covers 5,000 Web Search requests at $0.10 per 100 searches. After that, usage is pay-as-you-go.

    Bing billed against a monthly subscription tier. Desearch meters usage by endpoint and unit, and every billable response reports cost_usd, usage_count, and the metered service. Add up the searches, extracted pages, and any generated answers a complete task needs, then compare that against your old tier.