<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/google-pse/aimux -->
# aimux Google search stops on January 1, 2027: the setting to change

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/google-pse/aimux

aimux's `google_pse` provider calls Google's Custom Search JSON API. Google closed that API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027.

Set the provider's `baseUrl` to `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` and put a SpecStream key in `apiKey`. aimux sends the same request and parses the same JSON.

SpecStream 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-google-pse-aimux&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=google-pse-aimux&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dgoogle) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## Google Custom Search, the providers you will price, and SpecStream, from each company's own pages on Nov 10, 2026

| | SpecStream | Google Custom Search | Tavily | Brave Search |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open to a new account | Yes. Create a key and start with $10 of credit, no card | No. Closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 | Yes. 1,000 API credits a month, no credit card required | Yes, with $5 in free credits every month |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $5, with up to 10 results a search | $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free queries a day, for existing customers only | $8, at $0.008 a credit on pay as you go and 1 credit a basic search | $5 per 1,000 requests |
| Limit | No daily limit and no limit per key | 10,000 queries a day | Requests stop when the monthly credits run out, until they reset | Up to 50 queries per second |
| More per search | Up to 100 results a search, $0.006 for each started block of 10 past the first 10 | 1 to 10 results a call | An advanced search costs 2 credits | Up to 20 results a request |
| What you need first | A SpecStream key. aimux still needs a `cx`, and any value works | A configured Programmable Search Engine and an API key | A Tavily key, with credits spent by request type: search, extract or crawl | A Brave key, sent as `X-Subscription-Token` |
| What answers the search | The whole live web, read at the moment of the call, in Google's JSON. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions | The Programmable Search Engine you configured | Tavily's own search API, in Tavily's JSON | Brave's index. Its own page reports 85.3% on FreshQA |

## Why aimux users point google_pse at SpecStream

### The change is one setting

aimux's `google_pse` provider calls its base URL when one is set and `https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1` when none is. In the provider settings, before and after:

```
{
  "package": "google_pse",
  "settings": {
    "apiKey": "<your Google key>"
  }
}
```

```
{
  "package": "google_pse",
  "settings": {
    "apiKey": "<your SpecStream key>",
    "baseUrl": "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1"
  }
}
```

aimux refuses a search with no `cx`. Keep the one you have, or set `GOOGLE_CSE_ID` to any value: SpecStream accepts `cx` and does not use it. This is the call aimux then sends, with `key`, `cx`, `q` and `num` from the call's result count:

```
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1?key=$SPECSTREAM_API_KEY&cx=any&q=rust+llm+gateway&num=5"
```

### The same JSON, so aimux's parser reads it

aimux reads `items[]` and maps each item's `title`, `link` and `snippet` to a search result's title, URL and content. SpecStream returns `items[]` with those fields in Google's shape. The same call from Python, to see what your code will get:

```
import os, requests

reply = requests.get(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1",
    params={"key": os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"], "cx": "any", "q": "rust llm gateway", "num": 5},
).json()

for item in reply["items"]:
    print(item["title"], item["link"], item["snippet"])
```

The route also reads `start`, `hq`, `exactTerms`, `orTerms`, `excludeTerms`, `siteSearch` and `siteSearchFilter` for code that sends them. Every parameter and field is in the [Google Custom Search guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/google-custom-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-pse-aimux).

### $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=google-pse-aimux) page.

Every drop-in 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.

```
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=google-pse-aimux) 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=google-pse-aimux) 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 APIs aimux users price

### Google Custom Search, until January 1, 2027

Existing customers can leave `baseUrl` unset until Google ends the API: $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free a day, up to 10,000 a day. A new project gets no key. SpecStream costs the same $5 per 1,000, with no daily limit, behind one setting.

### Tavily

A search API billed in credits at $0.008 each on pay as you go: 1 credit a basic search and 2 an advanced one, so $8 to $16 per 1,000. Requests stop when the monthly credits run out. SpecStream keeps your Google code, at $5 per 1,000 with no daily limit.

### Brave Search

Brave's Search plan costs $5 per 1,000 requests, up to 50 queries per second, with $5 in free credits every month. Moving to it means a new request and a new reply format. SpecStream answers the call aimux already sends, at the same $5 per 1,000 and 97.9 on SimpleQA Verified.

## How to move aimux Google 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 aimux will send. A `200` with `items` means aimux gets the same.

```
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1?key=$SPECSTREAM_API_KEY&cx=any&q=test&num=5"
```

3. Set `baseUrl` and `apiKey` in the `google_pse` provider settings, and keep a `cx` (any value in `GOOGLE_CSE_ID` works):

```
{
  "package": "google_pse",
  "settings": {
    "apiKey": "<your SpecStream key>",
    "baseUrl": "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1"
  }
}
```

4. Run a search through aimux. Each search shows in your SpecStream request log with its price.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why will aimux Google search stop working?

Google closed the Custom Search JSON API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027, and aimux's `google_pse` provider calls that API by default. Set `baseUrl` to `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` with a SpecStream key and it keeps searching.

### Can I change the google_pse endpoint in aimux?

Yes. The provider's base URL setting, `baseUrl` in the provider settings, replaces `https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1`; a trailing slash is removed.

### What do I put in cx?

Any value. aimux refuses a search with no `cx`, and SpecStream accepts it, does not use it, and searches the whole live web.

### What is the best Google Custom Search alternative for aimux?

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 aimux's own Google call in Google's JSON, so one setting moves it.

### How much does aimux Google search cost with SpecStream?

$0.005 a search of up to 10 results, or $5 per 1,000. Credit you buy never expires, and $10 of credit, no card, covers 2,000 searches.

### Is there a daily limit?

No. Google allows 10,000 queries a day; SpecStream has no daily limit and no limit per key.

## Sources

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

- [aimux, aimux-providers/src/google_pse.rs](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arcships/aimux/master/aimux-providers/src/google_pse.rs), read Nov 10, 2026
- [aimux, aimux-ops/src/ops/provider.rs](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arcships/aimux/master/aimux-ops/src/ops/provider.rs), read Nov 10, 2026
- [aimux README](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arcships/aimux/master/README.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Google Custom Search cse.list reference](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily pricing](https://www.tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily search endpoint](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search), 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
- [LangChain Brave Search wrapper, brave_search.py](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/langchain-ai/langchain-community/main/libs/community/langchain_community/utilities/brave_search.py), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026