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# Bing Search API retirement: the v7 call still works at SpecStream

Checked on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/bing-search-api-retirement

Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025, decommissioned every existing instance and closed sign-up to new customers. It points them to Grounding with Bing Search in Azure AI Agents, at $14 per 1,000 transactions.

Your v7 code still runs. Change `https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search` to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` and put a SpecStream key in `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key`. The reply is Bing's JSON, so `webPages.value[]` reads as before.

SpecStream scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks, on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) page. A search of up to 10 results costs $0.005.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-bing-search-api-retirement&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dbing) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## SpecStream, the retired Bing API and its replacement

| | SpecStream | Bing Web Search API v7 | Grounding with Bing Search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status on Nov 10, 2026 | Live. New accounts start with $10 of credit, no card | Retired on August 11, 2025. Every existing instance decommissioned, and no new customer sign-up | Microsoft's named replacement, a tool inside Azure AI Agents |
| The call | `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search?q=...&count=&offset=` with the key in `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key` | `GET https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search` with the key in `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key` | An Azure AI agent calls it while a model writes its response |
| What comes back | Bing's JSON: `_type` `SearchResponse`, `queryContext`, `webPages.totalEstimatedMatches` and `webPages.value[]` with `id`, `name`, `url`, `displayUrl` and `snippet`, and `rankingResponse` | `webPages.value[]` with `name` and `url`, and optionally `snippet`, for each result | The model's result grounded with Bing data, citing the publishers. Developers and end users don't have access to the raw content |
| Results a call | `count` 1 to 50, default 10, as on Bing. `offset` pages through the list | `count` defaulted to 10, with a maximum of 50 | `count` defaults to 5, with a maximum of 50 |
| Use the results in your own code | Yes. Each result reaches your code as JSON, for ranking, retrieval or any agent on any model | Yes, while it ran. Your code read `webPages.value[]` | No. Microsoft's page says outputs are not directly accessible for use in other applications or programs |
| Price | $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. `count=50` costs $0.029 a call. A call stopped by a `429` charges nothing | No longer sold | $14 per 1,000 transactions, with limits of 150 transactions a second and 1 million a day |
| Where it runs | Any code that sends an HTTP call, the Python and TypeScript SDKs, the CLI and any MCP client | Any code that sent the HTTP call, as in Microsoft's Python quickstart | Azure AI Foundry Agent Service. Not all models support it |

## Why Bing v7 users move to SpecStream

### Your v7 call, at a new address

```
# Before
curl -G https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search \
  -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: $BING_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "q=Who founded Mistral AI and when?" -d count=10

# After
curl -G https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search \
  -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "q=Who founded Mistral AI and when?" -d count=10
```

The path, the header, the parameters and the parser stay as they are. Only the address and the key change. Every other migration guide hands you a table of fields to map by hand. Here there is nothing to map.

### 6,048 files on GitHub still hold the Bing call

On November 10, 2026, 15 months after the retirement, GitHub code search found 6,048 public files that contain `api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search`. They are files that hold the address, not confirmed live calls. Microsoft's own Semantic Kernel still sets that address as the default of its Bing connector.

Google is next: its Custom Search JSON API ends on January 1, 2027, and 25,024 public files hold its address today. SpecStream answers both calls at its own address, so each of those files needs one changed line.

### What stays the same

The route reads `q`, `count` (1 to 50, default 10), `offset` and `freshness` (Day, Week, Month, a range or one date). `textFormat=HTML` escapes the text as Bing did. `mkt`, `setLang`, `cc`, `safeSearch`, `responseFilter`, `answerCount`, `promote` and `textDecorations` are accepted, so a request your code sends today needs no edit.

The reply carries `_type`, `queryContext.originalQuery`, `webPages` with `totalEstimatedMatches` and `value[]` (`id`, `name`, `url`, `displayUrl`, `snippet`, `isFamilyFriendly`, `isNavigational`, and `datePublished` when the page gives one), and `rankingResponse`. Errors come back as `ErrorResponse` with Bing's codes, such as `InvalidAuthorization` and `RateLimitExceeded`. `dateLastCrawled` is not in the reply: each search reads the live web at the moment of the call.

In Open WebUI, set `BING_SEARCH_V7_ENDPOINT` to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`. In Semantic Kernel, pass the same address as the `uri` of `BingConnector`.

### $5 per 1,000 searches

A search of up to 10 results takes $0.005 from your balance, and each started block of 10 more adds $0.006, so `count=50` costs $0.029. Grounding with Bing Search costs $14 per 1,000 transactions. Credit you buy never expires, and a call stopped by a `429` charges nothing. Every rate is on the [pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) page.

### The most accurate web search API, at about one second

SpecStream scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct), and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Each score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) page.

On November 9, 2026 production took 1 to 20 searches a second through the fast search every drop-in route uses, and answered 718 of 720. The median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, and the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s. One account takes up to 8,800 searches a minute; a call over that gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged.

### You decide what is kept

Zero retention is a field on each key. A search made with such a key keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. The charge keeps the account, the key, the request ID, the price and the time.

```
POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys

{
  "name": "production",
  "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"],
  "spend_cap_cents": 500000,
  "zero_retention": true
}
```

### Search is the first call, and the same key does the rest

`GET /v1/web-search` returns up to 100 results for one search and an `answer` with the page it was read from. The [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) reads up to 20 pages or documents a call at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with the most a run can cost quoted before it starts.

## What else Bing API users price

### Grounding with Bing Search

Microsoft's replacement: a tool inside Azure AI Agents at $14 per 1,000 transactions, counted by the tool calls in a run. It returns a model's answer with citations, and developers don't get the raw results. SpecStream returns the results in Bing's JSON at $5 per 1,000. The [Grounding with Bing Search alternative](https://specstream.ai/grounding-with-bing-search-alternative?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) page compares the two.

### Grounding with Bing Custom Search

The same tool limited to the sites you choose, at the same $14 per 1,000 transactions on Microsoft's page. Its documentation sits under Agents (classic), which Microsoft says will be retired on March 31, 2027. On SpecStream, `site:` in `q` keeps a search to one site at $0.005.

### Brave Search API

A search API on Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month. Its reply has Brave's shape, so Bing code is rewritten for it. SpecStream answers the Bing call your code already sends, and Brave's call too, at `https://api.specstream.ai/res/v1/web/search`.

### Tavily

A search API for agents billed in credits, at $0.008 a credit pay as you go. SpecStream answers Tavily's call as well, at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily/search`, for $0.005 a search.

### Exa

A search API priced from $4 per 1,000 requests of up to 10 results. Its reply has Exa's shape. SpecStream answers Exa's call at `https://api.specstream.ai/exa/search` and Bing's at `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`, on one key.

## How to move a Bing v7 integration to SpecStream

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

2. Set the search address to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` where your code has `https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search`, and send the SpecStream key in `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key`.

```
import requests

ENDPOINT = "https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search"  # was https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search

reply = requests.get(
    ENDPOINT,
    headers={"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key": SPECSTREAM_KEY},
    params={"q": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "count": 10},
).json()

for page in reply["webPages"]["value"]:
    print(page["name"], page["url"], page["snippet"])
```

```
const reply = await fetch(
  "https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search?" + new URLSearchParams({ q: "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", count: "10" }),
  { headers: { "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key": process.env.SPECSTREAM_KEY } },
).then((r) => r.json());

for (const page of reply.webPages.value) console.log(page.name, page.url, page.snippet);
```

3. Leave the rest. `q`, `count`, `offset` and `freshness` work as before, and each call is billed as one search on your key, inside the spending limit you give it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Bing Search API deprecated?

Yes. Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025, decommissioned every existing instance and ended sign-up for new customers. Your v7 call still answers at `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`, in Bing's JSON.

### When was the Bing Search API retired?

On August 11, 2025. Microsoft's lifecycle notice gives that date and encourages customers to migrate to Grounding with Bing Search as part of Azure AI Agents.

### Which Bing APIs were retired?

The Bing Search resources on the F1 and S1 through S9 tiers, and the F0 and S1 through S4 resources of Bing Custom Search, all on August 11, 2025. SpecStream answers the Web Search v7 call at `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`.

### What did Microsoft replace the Bing Search API with?

Grounding with Bing Search, at $14 per 1,000 transactions. It is a tool in Azure AI Agents that returns a model's answer with citations, and developers don't have access to the raw results. SpecStream returns the results in Bing's v7 JSON at $5 per 1,000.

### Can I still get a Bing Search API key?

No. New customer sign-up ended with the retirement on August 11, 2025. A SpecStream key works in the same `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key` header, and a new account starts with $10 of credit, which covers 2,000 searches.

### Does my Bing Web Search v7 code still work?

Yes, at a new address. Change `https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search` to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`, put a SpecStream key in the same header, and `webPages.value[].name`, `url` and `snippet` read as before.

### How much does a Bing Search API replacement cost?

$5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results on SpecStream, and $0.029 for a call with `count=50`. Grounding with Bing Search costs $14 per 1,000 transactions. Every SpecStream rate is on the [pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-api-retirement) page.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each Microsoft and rival figure comes from that company's own page.

- [Microsoft: Bing Search APIs retiring on August 11, 2025](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/bing-search-api-retirement), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft 365 Message Center AZ492574 (mirror)](https://mc.merill.net/message/AZ492574), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Bing APIs and Grounding with Bing pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Grounding with Bing Search tools](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/agents/how-to/tools/bing-tools), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Grounding with Bing Custom Search (classic)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-classic/agents/how-to/tools-classic/bing-custom-search), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Bing Web Search API Python quickstart](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/search-apis/bing-web-search/quickstarts/rest/python), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Bing Web Search API query parameters](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/search-apis/bing-web-search/reference/query-parameters), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Microsoft: Bing Web Search API response objects](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/search-apis/bing-web-search/reference/response-objects), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily pricing](https://www.tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [GitHub code search: files containing api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search](https://github.com/search?q=%22api.bing.microsoft.com%2Fv7.0%2Fsearch%22&type=code), read Nov 10, 2026
- [GitHub code search: files containing googleapis.com/customsearch/v1](https://github.com/search?q=%22googleapis.com%2Fcustomsearch%2Fv1%22&type=code), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Semantic Kernel, BingConnector.cs (DefaultUri)](https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel/blob/main/dotnet/src/Plugins/Plugins.Web/Bing/BingConnector.cs), read Nov 10, 2026