Cloudflare launches Web Search API via AI Gateway with Ceramic.ai, Exa and Linkup
Tags AI / ML · Startups
Cloudflare launched a beta Web Search API through AI Gateway, partnering with Ceramic.ai (default), Exa and Linkup, all offering Zero Data Retention and committing to Cloudflare's verified-bot crawling standards. The three launch providers are priced at Ceramic.ai $0.25 per 1,000 requests, Exa $7.00 per 1,000 and Linkup $5.00 per 1,000, billed at provider list price with no additional markup. The API supports Bring-Your-Own-Key and AI Gateway credits and is available via a REST endpoint, a Workers binding (env.AI.websearch) and AI Gateway observability logs. Ceramic.ai's default index is described as covering 40B+ pages.
Technical significance
Cloudflare is positioning itself as a neutral routing layer for agent web search, letting developers swap search providers through one API and Workers binding while keeping billing and observability in AI Gateway. Requiring providers to meet Cloudflare's verified-bot crawling standards ties agent search to the same content-access rules Cloudflare enforces for the wider web, which may shape how AI crawlers are permitted to index sites. The wide price spread — from $0.25 to $7.00 per 1,000 requests — gives developers a clear cost lever as agentic search volumes grow.