<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/bing-search/omagent -->
# OmAgent after the Bing Search API: one setting to change

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/bing-search/omagent

OmAgent searches the web with its `WebSearch` tool, which calls the Bing Web Search API v7. Microsoft retired it on August 11, 2025 and decommissioned every instance and new sign-ups, so OmAgent's web search fails for anyone who sets it up today.

`WebSearch` has a `bing_endpoint` field. Set it to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` in the tool's config and put your SpecStream key in `bing_api_key`. The tool then sends its usual Bing call to SpecStream.

SpecStream answers Bing's v7 call in Bing's own JSON, scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and costs $5 per 1,000 searches, with no daily limit. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card.

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

## OmAgent web search and what replaces Bing, from each company's own pages on Nov 10, 2026

| | SpecStream | Bing Web Search API | Grounding with Bing Search | Google Custom Search | Brave Search API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setting in OmAgent | `bing_endpoint: https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` in the `WebSearch` tool config, with a SpecStream key in `bing_api_key` | `bing_endpoint` default: `https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search` | Not a v7 address. Microsoft places it in Azure AI Agents | Not among OmAgent's web search tools | Not among OmAgent's web search tools |
| Open to a new account | Yes. Create a key and start with $10 of credit, no card | No. Retired on August 11, 2025, with every instance decommissioned and no new sign-up | Yes, with a Grounding with Bing Search resource in the Azure portal | No. Closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 | Yes, with $5 in free credits every month |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $5, with up to 10 results a search | None. Microsoft decommissioned the product | $14 per 1,000 transactions | $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free queries a day, for existing customers only | $5 per 1,000 requests |
| Limit | No limit per key and no daily limit. A busy call gets a `429` and is not charged | None. The API is retired | 150 transactions a second and 1 million a day | 10,000 queries a day | Up to 50 queries per second |
| What comes back | Bing's `webPages.value[]` with `name`, `url` and `snippet`, the three fields `WebSearch` reads | `webPages.value[]`, with the name, URL and snippet of each page | No raw results: developers and end users get no access to the content returned | The URL, title and text snippets of each result, in Google's own format | Up to 20 results a request, in Brave's own format |
| What answers the search | The whole live web, read at the moment of the call. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions | Nothing since August 11, 2025 | An answer from the model. Not all models support it | The Programmable Search Engine you configured | Brave's index. Its own page reports 85.3% on FreshQA |

## Why OmAgent developers point Bing search at SpecStream

### One field in the WebSearch tool config

`WebSearch` declares `bing_endpoint: str = "https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search"` and sends its `GET` there, with the key in `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key`. Tool fields are set in the tool's YAML entry, next to `bing_api_key`. Before and after:

```
tools:
  - name: WebSearch
    bing_api_key: ${env| bing_api_key, null}
    llm: ${sub|text_res}
```

```
tools:
  - name: WebSearch
    bing_api_key: ${env| bing_api_key, null}
    bing_endpoint: https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search
    llm: ${sub|text_res}
```

Then export the SpecStream key under the name the config reads: `export bing_api_key=$SPECSTREAM_API_KEY`. Without a key, `WebSearch` logs "Bing API key is not provided, rollback to duckduckgo." and skips Bing.

### The same request and the same JSON

`WebSearch` sends `GET` with `q` and `mkt`, the region the model picked, and no count, so each call returns 10 results at $0.005. It reads `name`, `url` and `snippet` from `webPages.value`, then opens up to 3 of the URLs itself. SpecStream answers in Bing's shape.

The same call from plain Python:

```
import os, requests

reply = requests.get(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search",
    headers={"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key": os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"]},
    params={"q": "latest news about deepmind", "count": 10},
).json()

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

Every parameter and field of the route is in the [Bing Web Search v7 guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/bing-web-search-v7?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-omagent), and what Microsoft ended, and when, is on the [Bing Search API retirement](https://specstream.ai/bing-search-api-retirement?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-omagent) page.

### $5 per 1,000 searches, with no daily limit

A search of up to 10 results costs $0.005. There is no monthly plan and no daily limit. Credit you buy never expires, and a new account starts with $10 of credit, which covers 2,000 searches. A busy call gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and charges nothing.

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

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

Every Bing call runs the fast search. Measured on production on November 9, 2026, its median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s, and it answered 718 of 720. There is no limit per key and no daily limit.

### You decide what is kept, on each key

Create the key with `zero_retention` and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. `spend_cap_cents` is the most the key can spend, so a long OmAgent run stops at the cap you set.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "production", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'
```

### Search, pages and rows on one key

The same key reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=bing-search-omagent) 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-omagent) returns every match for a request in plain words as structured rows, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with a source URL on every value. The most a run can cost is approved before it starts.

## Other web search options for OmAgent

### Grounding with Bing Search

Microsoft's named replacement for the Bing Search APIs, at $14 per 1,000 transactions, inside Azure AI Agents. It returns an answer with citations, and developers get no access to the raw results, so `WebSearch` has no `webPages.value` to read. SpecStream returns Bing's `webPages.value[]` at $5 per 1,000.

### OmAgent's TavilyWebSearch

OmAgent also ships `TavilyWebSearch`, billed by Tavily in credits at $0.008 each on pay as you go, 1 credit a basic search. On a monthly plan, requests stop when the month's credits run out. SpecStream keeps the `WebSearch` tool you have, at $0.005 a search, and its credit never expires.

### Google Custom Search JSON API

$5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free a day, up to 10,000 a day, for existing customers only: Google closed it to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027. It answers a different request with a different reply. SpecStream keeps `WebSearch`'s Bing call and costs the same $5 per 1,000, with no daily limit.

## How to move OmAgent web search to SpecStream

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

2. Check the key with the call Bing's v7 API takes. A `200` with `webPages.value` means the key works.

```
curl -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search?q=test&count=3"
```

3. Add `bing_endpoint` to the `WebSearch` entry of your tools config and export the key:

```
tools:
  - name: WebSearch
    bing_api_key: ${env| bing_api_key, null}
    bing_endpoint: https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search
    llm: ${sub|text_res}

# in the shell
export bing_api_key=$SPECSTREAM_API_KEY
```

4. Start the workflow as before. Each search shows in your SpecStream request log with its price.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is OmAgent web search not working?

Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025 and decommissioned every instance, so `WebSearch` has nothing to call at its default `bing_endpoint`. Set `bing_endpoint` to `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` with a SpecStream key in `bing_api_key`.

### Where do I get an OmAgent Bing API key now?

Not from Microsoft: Bing has taken no new customer sign-up since August 11, 2025. Create a SpecStream key with $10 of credit, no card, and use it as `bing_api_key`.

### Where does bing_endpoint go in OmAgent?

In the `WebSearch` entry of the tools config, beside `bing_api_key`. Its value is the full address, `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search`.

### What is the best OmAgent Bing alternative?

SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches with no daily limit and 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions. It answers the Bing call `WebSearch` already makes.

### What happens in OmAgent without a Bing key?

`WebSearch` logs "Bing API key is not provided, rollback to duckduckgo." and searches DuckDuckGo instead of Bing. Set `bing_api_key` to a SpecStream key and `bing_endpoint` to SpecStream to search through Bing's call again.

### How much does OmAgent web search cost with SpecStream?

$0.005 a call: `WebSearch` sends no count, so each call gets 10 results. The first $10 of credit covers 2,000 searches, and credit you buy never expires.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. OmAgent's settings come from its source on GitHub, and each provider's figure from that company's own page.

- [OmAgent web_search/search.py](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/om-ai-lab/OmAgent/main/omagent-core/src/omagent_core/tool_system/tools/web_search/search.py), read Nov 10, 2026
- [OmAgent tool system docs](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/om-ai-lab/OmAgent/main/docs/concepts/tool_system/tool.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [OmAgent websearch.yml example](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/om-ai-lab/OmAgent/main/examples/step2_outfit_with_switch/configs/tools/websearch.yml), read Nov 10, 2026
- [OmAgent tavily_search.py](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/om-ai-lab/OmAgent/main/omagent-core/src/omagent_core/tool_system/tools/web_search/tavily_search.py), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Bing Search API retirement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/bing-search-api-retirement), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Grounding with Bing Search pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/grounding-pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Bing APIs](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Grounding with Bing Search tools](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/agents/how-to/tools/bing-tools), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Bing Web Search 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
- [Brave Search API documentation](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation/web-search/get-started), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily pricing](https://tavily.com/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