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Overview

The Parallel Search API streamlines the traditional search → scrape → extract pipeline into a single, low-latency API—reducing token overhead and integration effort. Designed for agentic systems and LLM-based workflows, the API returns ranked, compressed excerpts optimized for LLMs. Results are designed to serve directly as model input, enabling faster reasoning and higher-quality completions with less post-processing.
Alpha Notice: This API is currently in alpha and subject to change. Usage is limited to 1,000 requests per hour. For production access or higher capacity, contact support@parallel.ai.

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Key Benefits

The Search API is ideal for LLM workflows, agents and retrieval-augmented tasks that use web information.
  • Speed: Replace brittle multi-step pipelines with a single API call that reduces latency while improving overall quality.
  • Flexibility: Configure the number of results and control excerpt length using tunable parameters.
  • Token Efficiency: Returns compressed, structured text from the web that minimizes tokens and eliminates the need for post-processing or additional prompting.
  • Quality: Built on a web-scale index with advanced ranking and compression techniques that prioritize relevance, clarity, and source reliability.
  • Simple Integration: Drop-in replacement for existing keyword-based workflows—just send your search keywords as is to the API and receive structured results.

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Processors

Processors control how each search query is executed. They determine how results are retrieved, ranked, and compressed, and each has different performance and quality characteristics. Pricing per request is based on the processor used—independent of the number of inputs or outputs. Each query must specify exactly one processor.

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Choosing a Processor

The Search API currently supports two processors, each optimized for different workloads. Use base for fast responses to general web queries, ideal for latency-sensitive applications. Use pro for more complex or open-ended queries where freshness, and content quality are critical.

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Reference

Each processor varies in its performance characteristics and optimal use cases. Use the table below for reference.
ProcessorStrengthsp90 LatencyCost ($/1000)Max Results Supported
BaseLowest cost and fastest retrieval4-5s440
ProExcerpt quality, freshness45-70s940

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Request Fields

Note that at least one of objective or search_queries is required. The remaining fields are optional.
FieldTypeNotesExample
objectivestringNatural-language description of what the web research goal is. Include any source or freshness guidance.”I want to know when the UN was founded. Prefer UN’s websites.”
search_queriesstring[]Optional search queries to guide the search.[“Founding year UN”, “Year of founding United Nations”]
processorenumEither base or probase
max_resultsintMaximum number of search results10
max_chars_per_resultintMaximum characters per search result1500
source_policySourcePolicySource policy to use for controlling retrieval sourcesSee Source policy example
There are a few restriction on allowed values:
  • objective: limited to 5,000 characters.
  • search_queries: Maximum number of queries allowed is 5 and each query can have a maximum length of 200 characters.
  • max_results: Processor defined limits. See reference.
  • max_chars_per_result: Minimum value allowed is 100. Per-result excerpt length greater than 30,000 characters in length are not guaranteed.

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Example Usage

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Sample Request

curl https://api.parallel.ai/alpha/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $PARALLEL_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "objective": "When was the United Nations established? Prefer UN'\''s websites.",
    "search_queries": [
      "Founding year UN",
      "Year of founding United Nations"
    ],
    "processor": "base",
    "max_results": 5,
    "max_chars_per_result": 1500
  }'

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Sample Response

{
  "search_id": "search_ce42c6a9-7e1e-afb3-4e42-2e5f1efdf819",
  "results": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un",
      "title": "History of the United Nations",
      "excerpts": [
        "As World War II was about to end in 1945, nations were in ruins, and the world wanted peace.",
        "Representatives of 50 countries gathered at the United Nations Conference on International ",
        "Organization in San Francisco, California from 25 April to 26 June 1945. For the next two ",
        "months, they proceeded to draft and then sign the UN Charter, which created a new international ",
        "organization, the United Nations, which, it was hoped, would prevent another world war like the ",
        "one they had just lived through.",
        "Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended, the United Nations officially began, on ",
        "24 October 1945, when it came into existence after its Charter had been ratified by China, France, ",
        "the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories.",
        "Now, more than 75 years later, the United Nations is still working to maintain international peace ",
        "and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold ",
        "international law."
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations",
      "title": "United Nations - Wikipedia",
      "excerpts": [
        "The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing ",
        "of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and ",
        "security, to develop friendly relations among states, to promote international cooperation, and to ",
        "serve as a centre for harmonizing the actions of states in achieving those goals.",
        "The United Nations headquarters is located in New York City, with several other offices located in ",
        "Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna."
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/un",
      "title": "The Formation of the United Nations, 1945 - Office of the Historian",
      "excerpts": [
        "The Charter provided for an 18-member Economic and Social Council, an International Court of ",
        "Justice, a Trusteeship Council to oversee certain colonial territories, and a Secretariat under a ",
        "Secretary General. The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, after 29 nations ",
        "had ratified the Charter."
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.un.org/en/video/founding-united-nations-1945",
      "title": "Founding of the United Nations 1945",
      "excerpts": [
        "In the summer of 1945, leaders from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to agree upon an ",
        "international treaty to enshrine the equal rights of all people ..."
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.un.org/en/model-united-nations/history-united-nations",
      "title": "History of the United Nations",
      "excerpts": [
        "On 24 October 1945, this condition was fulfilled and the UN officially came into existence. Four ",
        "years of planning and the hope of many years had materialized ..."
      ]
    }
  ]
}