Google removed Web Search Service API documentation

Google removed Web Search Service API documentation

On 2026-09-28, Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google had published Web Search Service API documentation and then pulled it down.¹ The removed documentation is not a public product contract for a local business. Do not build a workflow around it.

What did the September 28 report establish about public access?

The September 28 report says Google does not offer a public Web Search Service API. It records that Google pulled the documentation after it appeared briefly, while the reproduced text and a September 11 report describe a partner-only service.

Search Engine Roundtable said Google had appeared to publish the documentation a few weeks earlier and had pulled it down the previous week.¹ The same report says the removed page described programmatic partners, and Search Engine Journal reported that access required a client ID tied to a partner agreement, along with a Google Cloud project and API key.²

That is the public boundary reported on September 28, not a Google product enrollment notice. A later Google announcement could change the access path.

The AI search hub is the better place to follow the wider change in how people find answers. This story records one access event and its practical boundary.

What did the reproduced text say the service could do?

The reproduced description presented the Web Search Service API as a partner service for retrieving and displaying Google Search results. It named REST and gRPC requests, JSON responses, result items, timing, and metadata.

Search Engine Roundtable reproduced the short service description from the removed pages.¹ The description was specific enough to show the intended use: a programmatic partner could place Google Search results inside a website or application.

Search Engine Journal described the service as partner-only and contrasted it with an API that a developer could enable immediately in a Google Cloud project.²

The difference matters for a marketer deciding whether to build a reporting or monitoring workflow. A page that explains an interface can help a partner understand the shape of a request. It cannot, by itself, grant credentials, define a contract, or confirm that the endpoint remains available.

Why were partner credentials a boundary rather than a self-serve signup?

The reported access model required a partner client ID tied to a partner agreement, alongside a Google Cloud project and API key. The published material did not explain partner onboarding, cost, or how many queries a company could make.²

Search Engine Journal reported the partner client ID requirement and the missing commercial details on September 11, 2026.² That report is the source for the access boundary, while the September 28 report records the later removal of the overview documentation.

The reported request limit was 10 results by default and up to 20 per request. A token could request additional pages.² Those numbers belong to the documentation that was observed.

For a local business, the safe sequence is short:

1. Do not write production code against a removed overview page.
2. Do not treat a Cloud project or API key as proof of partner access.
3. Ask Google for a current, written access path if full-web retrieval is essential.
4. Keep the workflow replaceable until the access terms, cost, limits, and endpoint are confirmed.

If a marketer planned a daily search-results report, the fourth step protects the reporting plan from depending on an interface that may change or remain partner-only.

Which current Google search-product path matches the search scope?

Google’s January 20 product update names Vertex AI Search as a favorable alternative for up to 50 domains and routes full-web needs to an interest form.³ Google’s Custom Search JSON API page says the API is closed to new customers and will be discontinued on January 1, 2027.⁴

In its January 20, 2026 product update, Google said Vertex AI Search was a favorable alternative for up to 50 domains. Google also said partners that needed to query beyond a designated subset of domains could register interest in its full-web solution.³

Google’s Custom Search JSON API page says the API is closed to new customers and will be discontinued on January 1, 2027.⁴ Existing customers have until that date to transition to an alternative solution.

The choice therefore depends on the search scope:

• A defined set of domains: review Google’s Vertex AI Search path for up to 50 domains.³
• The full web: use Google’s contact or registration path and wait for the terms that apply to the business.³
• An existing Custom Search JSON API integration: plan around the January 1, 2027 transition date.⁴

The standing answer on choosing who gets you onto AI search covers the broader provider decision. This dated record adds the product-access change and the reason a removed page should not become a dependency.

What should a local business do while Google’s access path is changing?

A local business should keep its website and Google Business Profile clear, accessible, and current while it waits for confirmed Google product guidance. Google says the usual SEO best practices remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no additional special optimizations and no guarantee of serving.⁵

Google Search Central says pages seeking supporting-link visibility in AI Overviews or AI Mode need to be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. It also says there are no additional technical requirements or special optimizations for those features, and that meeting requirements does not guarantee crawling, indexing, or serving.⁵

That gives an owner a stable action while the API story changes. Keep Google Business Profile facts accurate, keep important pages available to search, and use Google’s current documentation as the source for any integration decision. The Google Maps optimization guide is the practical reference for the local profile and search surface.

Do not add a special API dependency because a documentation page briefly appeared. If Google later confirms a supported partner path, assess that path on its actual access terms and keep the local business’s public search foundations useful without it.

FAQ

The Web Search Service API and the Custom Search JSON API are separate product paths. Google’s current transition notice applies to the Custom Search JSON API.⁴

Is the Web Search Service API the same as the Custom Search JSON API?

No. The reports described the Web Search Service API as a partner-only full-web service. Google’s current page for the Custom Search JSON API says that API is closed to new customers and that existing customers must transition by January 1, 2027.^2,4

If you want an outside check on the public profile and local visibility signals behind that plan, Get Your Visibility Score, free.