Google search API for AI assistants

The Google search API runs a query on Google and returns the results as JSON. The search covers Google's main index and specialized engines: Images, Videos, Shopping, Scholar, Patents, Jobs, Hotels, and others.

What it does

You pass a search query, a location, and a language. Some endpoints let you specify which Google engine to search (web, images, videos, shopping, scholar, patents, jobs, flights, hotels, events), and others work with the main web search only. The reply holds the search results, each with its title, link, and snippet or description. Shopping endpoints add prices and seller names, Scholar adds citation counts, and Patents adds inventor and assignee fields.

A few endpoints return keyword data from large databases instead of live search results. One endpoint tells you whether Google sees a set of keywords as informational, commercial, or navigational. Another lists the top searches from a database of seven billion keywords.

How a Joshu assistant uses it

Before a partnership call, Joshu runs a Google search for the other company's product name and reports back on recent coverage, pricing pages, and what competitors show up in the ads.

When you hand Joshu a list of product ideas, it searches for each one, checks what comes up first on Google Shopping, and writes a one-line summary of whether the market looks crowded.

Every week, Joshu searches Google Images for your brand name to see what visuals appear in the top results, and it flags any new screenshots or logos it has not seen before.

Choosing a provider

Pick the endpoint that matches which Google engine you want to search. If you need web results only, the cheapest general search endpoint works. If you need images or videos, use an endpoint that targets Google Images or Google Videos. Shopping and Scholar endpoints return the extra fields their results include.

Keyword intent endpoints are different: they do not run a live search, but instead check a provider's database for what Google historically shows for those keywords.

curl https://hello.joshu.me/api/router/call \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $JOSHU_ROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "endpoint": "anyapi.google.search_100",
    "params": {
      "gl": "us",
      "hl": "en",
      "query": "best crm software"
    }
  }'