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Legacy APIs

Web search

Allow models to search the web for the latest information before generating a response.

Web search allows models to access up-to-date information from the internet and provide answers with sourced citations. To enable this, use the web search tool in the Responses API or, in some cases, Chat Completions.

There are three main types of web search available with OpenAI models:

  1. Non‑reasoning web search: The non-reasoning model sends the user’s query to the web search tool, which returns the response based on top results. There’s no internal planning and the model simply passes along the search tool’s responses. This method is fast and ideal for quick lookups.
  2. Agentic search with reasoning models is an approach where the model actively manages the search process. It can perform web searches as part of its chain of thought, analyze results, and decide whether to keep searching. This flexibility makes agentic search well suited to complex workflows, but it also means searches take longer than quick lookups. For example, you can adjust reasoning levels on models like gpt-5.5 to change both the depth and latency of the search.
  3. Deep research is a specialized, agent-driven method for in-depth, extended investigations by reasoning models. The model conducts web searches as part of its chain of thought, often tapping into hundreds of sources. Deep research can run for several minutes and is best used with background mode. Use gpt-5.5 with reasoning set to high or xhigh.

Choose an integration

Use caseRecommended pathNotes
New web search integrationResponses API with web_search and gpt-5.5Supports hosted web search controls such as filters, sources, live-access control, and longer research runs
Existing Chat Completions search integrationChat Completions with gpt-5-search-apiUse this only when you need to preserve a Chat Completions integration
Multi-step research or long-running reportinggpt-5.5 with high or xhigh reasoningUse background mode for reports that can take several minutes

Using the Responses API, you can enable web search by configuring it in the tools array in an API request to generate content. Like any other tool, the model can choose to search the web or not based on the content of the input prompt.

For new Responses API integrations, use { "type": "web_search" }. The earlier web_search_preview tool remains available for legacy integrations, but it does not support newer controls such as filters, external_web_access, and return_token_budget.

Web search tool example
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import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI();

const response = await client.responses.create({
    model: "gpt-5.5",
    tools: [
        { type: "web_search" },
    ],
    input: "What was a positive news story from today?",
});

console.log(response.output_text);

Output and citations

Model responses that use the web search tool will include two parts:

  • A web_search_call output item with the ID of the search call, along with the action taken in web_search_call.action. The action is one of:
    • search, which represents a web search. It will usually (but not always) includes the search queries which were searched. Search actions incur a tool call cost (see pricing).
    • open_page, which represents a page being opened. Supported in reasoning models.
    • find_in_page, which represents searching within a page. Supported in reasoning models.
  • A message output item containing:
    • The text result in message.content[0].text
    • Annotations message.content[0].annotations for the cited URLs

By default, the model’s response will include inline citations for URLs found in the web search results. In addition to this, the url_citation annotation object will contain the URL, title and location of the cited source.

When displaying web results or information contained in web results to end users, inline citations must be made clearly visible and clickable in your user interface.

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[
  {
    "type": "web_search_call",
    "id": "ws_67c9fa0502748190b7dd390736892e100be649c1a5ff9609",
    "status": "completed",
    "action": {
      "type": "search",
      "query": "latest news about AI"
    }
  },
  {
    "id": "msg_67c9fa077e288190af08fdffda2e34f20be649c1a5ff9609",
    "type": "message",
    "status": "completed",
    "role": "assistant",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "output_text",
        "text": "On March 6, 2025, several news...",
        "annotations": [
          {
            "type": "url_citation",
            "start_index": 2606,
            "end_index": 2758,
            "url": "https://...",
            "title": "Title..."
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]
If you useRecommended pathNotes
web_search_preview in ResponsesMigrate to web_searchweb_search supports newer controls such as filters, external_web_access, and return_token_budget
gpt-4o-search-preview or gpt-4o-mini-search-previewMigrate to Responses web_search, or use gpt-5-search-api if you must stay on Chat CompletionsThe preview search models are deprecated and shut down on 2026-07-23
Chat Completions search integrationsUse gpt-5-search-api, or migrate to Responses web_search for more tool controls and optional searchChat Completions search models always search before responding; Responses search is a tool

Search context size

search_context_size controls how much context from web search results is made available to the model before it generates a response. Use low for simple lookups, medium for a balanced default, and high when the answer may require more detail from search results. This setting does not set an exact token count or guarantee a specific number of sources or citations.

Set search context size
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import OpenAI from "openai";
const openai = new OpenAI();

const response = await openai.responses.create({
    model: "gpt-5.5",
    tools: [{
        type: "web_search",
        search_context_size: "low",
    }],
    input: "What movie won best picture in 2025?",
});
console.log(response.output_text);

Run longer web research

return_token_budget controls how much web search result content the tool can return during a Responses API search run with GPT-5+ reasoning models. Keep the default for most requests. Set it to unlimited only for high-effort research or evaluation runs that need to inspect many pages and might otherwise stop at the standard returned-token cap.

Use unlimited selectively because it can increase latency and cost. For long-running multi-search tasks, use background mode (background: true) so the request can keep running asynchronously and you can retrieve the final response later.

ValueBehavior
defaultUses the standard returned-token budget for web search results. This is the same behavior as omitting return_token_budget.
unlimitedRemoves the default returned-token budget for the web search run.

This parameter applies only to the hosted Responses API web_search tool with GPT-5+ reasoning web search. It does not change the search context window, and it does not apply to non-reasoning web search, legacy Search API paths, container web search, Chat Completions search models, or web_search_preview. Only default and unlimited are supported values; null, numbers, and other strings are rejected.

Run longer web searches
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curl "https://api.openai.com/v1/responses" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-5.5",
    "reasoning": { "effort": "xhigh" },
    "tools": [
      {
        "type": "web_search",
        "return_token_budget": "unlimited"
      }
    ],
    "input": "Research the economic impact of semaglutide on global healthcare systems.\n\nDo:\n- Include specific figures, trends, statistics, and measurable outcomes.\n- Prioritize reliable, up-to-date sources: peer-reviewed research, health organizations (e.g., WHO, CDC), regulatory agencies, or pharmaceutical earnings reports.\n- Include inline citations and return all source metadata.\n\nBe analytical, avoid generalities, and ensure that each section supports data-backed reasoning that could inform healthcare policy or financial modeling."
  }'

Domain filtering

Domain filtering in web search lets you limit results to a specific set of domains. With the filters parameter you can configure up to 100 allowed_domains or up to 100 blocked_domains. When formatting domains, omit the HTTP or HTTPS prefix. For example, use openai.com instead of https://openai.com/. This approach also includes subdomains in the search. Note that domain filtering is only available in the Responses API with the web_search tool.

Sources

To view all URLs retrieved during a web search, use the sources field. Unlike inline citations, which show only the most relevant references, sources returns the complete list of URLs the model consulted when forming its response. The number of sources is often greater than the number of citations. Real-time third-party feeds are also surfaced here and are labeled as oai-sports, oai-weather, or oai-finance. The sources field is available with both the web_search and web_search_preview tools.

List sources
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curl "https://api.openai.com/v1/responses" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-5.5",
    "reasoning": { "effort": "low" },
    "tools": [
      {
        "type": "web_search",
        "filters": {
          "allowed_domains": [
            "pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov",
            "clinicaltrials.gov",
            "www.who.int",
            "www.cdc.gov",
            "www.fda.gov"
          ],
          "blocked_domains": [
            "reddit.com",
            "quora.com",
            "wikipedia.org"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "tool_choice": "auto",
    "include": ["web_search_call.action.sources"],
    "input": "Please perform a web search on how semaglutide is used in the treatment of diabetes."
  }'

User location

To refine search results based on geography, you can specify an approximate user location using country, city, region, and/or timezone.

  • The city and region fields are free text strings, like Minneapolis and Minnesota respectively.
  • The country field is a two-letter ISO country code, like US.
  • The timezone field is an IANA timezone like America/Chicago.

Note that user location is not supported for deep research models using web search.

Customizing user location
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import OpenAI from "openai";
const openai = new OpenAI();

const response = await openai.responses.create({
    model: "gpt-5.5",
    tools: [{
        type: "web_search",
        user_location: {
            type: "approximate",
            country: "GB",
            city: "London",
            region: "London"
        }
    }],
    input: "What are the best restaurants near me?",
});
console.log(response.output_text);

Live internet access

Control whether the web search tool fetches live content or uses only cached/indexed results in the Responses API.

  • Set external_web_access: false on the web_search tool to run in offline/cache‑only mode.
  • Default is true (live access) if you do not set it.
  • Preview variants (web_search_preview) ignore this parameter and behave as if external_web_access is true.
Control live internet access
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curl "https://api.openai.com/v1/responses" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" -d '{
  "model": "gpt-5.5",
  "tools": [
    { "type": "web_search", "external_web_access": false }
  ],
  "tool_choice": "auto",
  "input": "Find when the Eiffel Tower opened to the public and cite the source."
}'

Limitations

Chat Completions API

The Chat Completions API supports only specialized search models for web search. These models do not support Responses API web_search features such as domain filters, complete source lists, live-access control, and returned-token budget control.

ModelContext windowLimitation
gpt-5-search-api200kUses the Chat Completions search model path
gpt-4o-search-preview128kUses the Chat Completions search model path; deprecated, shutdown 2026-07-23
gpt-4o-mini-search-preview128kUses the Chat Completions search model path; deprecated, shutdown 2026-07-23

Responses API

Use the hosted web_search tool. The Responses API still accepts web_search_preview for legacy integrations, but use web_search for new integrations.

For a larger model context window, use gpt-5.5. The web search context window remains 128k.

ModelModel context windowLimitation
gpt-4.11MSearch context is limited to 128k
gpt-4.1-mini1MSearch context is limited to 128k
o4-mini200kSearch context is limited to 128k; deprecated, shutdown 2026-10-23

For Responses API web search, the search context window is limited to 128k, even when the model context window is larger.

  • Web search does not support gpt-5 with minimal reasoning.
  • gpt-5.4 with reasoning effort set to none may produce lower-quality results.
  • Responses API web search uses the underlying model’s tiered rate limits.
  • web_search_preview does not support filters or return_token_budget, and ignores external_web_access.
  • With tool_choice: "auto", search is optional. Use tool_choice: "required" or a specific web search tool choice when search must run.

Usage notes

API AvailabilityRate limitsNotes

Same as tiered rate limits for underlying model used with the tool.

Pricing
ZDR and data residency