> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.agentium.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Web Search

> AI-optimized web search using Tavily or SerpAPI backends.

# Web Search

Search the web using AI-optimized search providers. Supports [Tavily](https://tavily.com) and [SerpAPI](https://serpapi.com) backends.

<Info>
  For a zero-config option that doesn't require an API key, use the [DuckDuckGo toolkit](/toolkits/duckduckgo) instead.
</Info>

***

## Quick Start

```typescript theme={null}
import { Agent, openai, WebSearchToolkit } from "@agentium/core";

const search = new WebSearchToolkit({
  provider: "tavily",
  // Uses TAVILY_API_KEY env var
});

const agent = new Agent({
  name: "researcher",
  model: openai("gpt-4o"),
  instructions: "Search the web and provide sourced answers.",
  tools: [...search.getTools()],
});

const result = await agent.run("Latest developments in AI agents 2026");
```

***

## Config

<ParamField body="provider" type="'tavily' | 'serpapi'" required>
  Search provider to use.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="apiKey" type="string">
  API key. Falls back to `TAVILY_API_KEY` or `SERPAPI_API_KEY` env var.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="maxResults" type="number" default="5">
  Default maximum results per search.
</ParamField>

***

## Tools

| Tool         | Description                                                                                     |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `web_search` | Search the web. Returns titles, URLs, and snippets. Tavily also returns an AI-generated answer. |

***

## Providers

### Tavily

Best for AI agents — returns an AI-generated answer alongside search results.

```bash theme={null}
export TAVILY_API_KEY="tvly-..."
```

Get a free API key at [tavily.com](https://tavily.com).

### SerpAPI

Google search results via API.

```bash theme={null}
export SERPAPI_API_KEY="..."
```

Sign up at [serpapi.com](https://serpapi.com).