<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/google-pse/mattermost-agents -->
# Mattermost Agents: Google search stops on January 1, 2027. The setting to change

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

The Mattermost Agents plugin searches the web through Google's Custom Search JSON API. Google closed that API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027.

In the System Console web search panel, set "API URL (optional)" to `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1`, put a SpecStream key in "Google API Key" and any value in "Search Engine ID". The plugin sends the same request and reads 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-mattermost-agents&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=google-pse-mattermost-agents&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dgoogle) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## Mattermost Agents web search providers and SpecStream, from each company's own pages and the plugin's source on Nov 10, 2026

| | SpecStream | Google Custom Search | Brave Search | SearXNG (self-hosted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattermost fields | "API URL (optional)" `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1`, "Google API Key" your SpecStream key, "Search Engine ID" any value | "API URL" left empty: the plugin calls `https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1` with a Google key and engine ID | "Brave API Key", "Brave Result Limit" and "Brave API URL (optional)" | "SearXNG Base URL": the root URL of your own instance |
| 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. Mattermost's guide asks admins to subscribe to Brave's Pro AI plan | You install and run the instance, and it must allow the json format |
| 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 | $5 per 1,000 requests on Brave's Search plan, which Mattermost's guide says breaks Brave's terms for this use | No API price. You pay to host the instance |
| Limit | No daily limit. Up to 26,666 searches a minute on one account | 10,000 queries a day. Mattermost's guide warns of strict daily quota limits | Up to 50 queries per second on Brave's Search plan | What your instance and its upstream engines allow |
| Results per search | The plugin's "Result Limit", 1 to 10, 5 by default. Each search is $0.005 | 1 to 10 results a call | Up to 20 results a request | The plugin's "SearXNG Result Limit" |
| 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. Mattermost's guide says it lacks the quality of google.com | Brave's index. Its own page reports 85.3% on FreshQA | The engines your instance queries |

## Why Mattermost admins point Agents web search at SpecStream

### The change is one field

The plugin's Google provider uses "API URL" when it is set and Google's address when it is empty. Under System Console, Plugins, Agents, the web search panel, before and after:

```
System Console > Plugins > Agents, web search

Provider:            Google Custom Search
Google API Key:      <your Google key>
Search Engine ID:    <your engine ID>
Result Limit:        5
API URL (optional):  (empty, so the plugin calls https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1)
```

```
System Console > Plugins > Agents, web search

Provider:            Google Custom Search
Google API Key:      <your SpecStream key>
Search Engine ID:    any
Result Limit:        5
API URL (optional):  https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1
```

Keep the provider on Google Custom Search. The plugin needs a key and an engine ID, so give any engine ID: SpecStream accepts `cx` and does not use it. This is the call the plugin then sends, with `key`, `cx`, `q` and `num` from "Result Limit":

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

### The same JSON, so the plugin's parser reads it

The plugin reads `items[]` and takes `title`, `link` and `snippet` from each. SpecStream returns `items[]` with those fields in Google's shape, with `searchInformation.totalResults` and `queries.nextPage`. In the plugin's config these fields are `webSearch.google.apiKey`, `searchEngineId`, `resultLimit` and `apiURL`.

The same call from Python, to see what the agent will get:

```
import os, requests

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

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

Every parameter and field of the route is in the [Google Custom Search guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/google-custom-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-pse-mattermost-agents).

### $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 call stopped by a `429` 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-mattermost-agents) 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. One account can send up to 26,666 searches a minute.

### 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-mattermost-agents) 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-mattermost-agents) 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 providers in Mattermost Agents

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

Existing customers can leave "API URL" empty 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 field.

### Brave Search

The plugin's second provider. Brave's Search plan costs $5 per 1,000 requests, and Mattermost's guide says admins must subscribe to Brave's Pro AI plan for this use. SpecStream keeps your Google settings, at $5 per 1,000 and 97.9 on SimpleQA Verified.

### SearXNG (self-hosted)

The third provider is an instance you install and run, reached by its root URL, with the json format turned on. Its results are those of the engines it queries. SpecStream needs no server and searches the whole live web at $0.005 a search.

## How to move Mattermost Agents 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 the plugin will send. A `200` with `items` means the plugin gets the same.

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

3. In System Console, open Plugins, Agents, and the web search panel. Keep Provider on Google Custom Search and set the three fields:

```
System Console > Plugins > Agents, web search

Provider:            Google Custom Search
Google API Key:      <your SpecStream key>
Search Engine ID:    any
Result Limit:        5
API URL (optional):  https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1
```

4. Save, then ask an agent something that needs a web search. Each search shows in your SpecStream request log with its price.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does Mattermost Agents web search stop working?

Google closed the Custom Search JSON API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027, so a new project gets no key for the plugin's Google provider. Set "API URL (optional)" to `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` with a SpecStream key and it searches again.

### Which Google API key does the Mattermost AI plugin need?

With SpecStream, your SpecStream key goes in "Google API Key", and "API URL (optional)" is `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1`. A new account starts with $10 of credit, no card.

### What do I put in Search Engine ID?

Any value. The plugin sends it as `cx`, and SpecStream accepts `cx`, does not use it, and searches the whole live web.

### What is the best Google Custom Search alternative for Mattermost Agents?

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 plugin's own Google call in Google's JSON, so one field moves it.

### How much does Mattermost Agents web search cost with SpecStream?

$0.005 a search of up to 10 results, or $5 per 1,000; "Result Limit" runs from 1 to 10, so every search is one price. Credit you buy never expires.

### Is there a daily limit?

No. Google allows 10,000 queries a day; SpecStream has no daily limit and takes up to 26,666 searches a minute on one account.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. The plugin's fields come from its source and admin guide on GitHub, and each provider's figure from that company's own page.

- [Mattermost Agents plugin, websearch/google.go](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-agents/master/websearch/google.go), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Mattermost Agents plugin, config/config.go](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-agents/master/config/config.go), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Mattermost Agents plugin, admin guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-agents/master/docs/admin_guide.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Mattermost Agents plugin, web search panel](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-agents/master/webapp/src/components/system_console/web_search/web_search_panel.tsx), 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
- [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
- [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