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Google Custom Search JSON API ends for current users January 1, 2027

Google Custom Search JSON API closes: readers save what they can and replace that one function.

78 days left · January 1, 2027 · Public page

Low switching pressure37/100

An estimate from the deadline, cost, discussion and need to move. It is not a product rating.

What goes into it

Confidence: medium.

deadline16/30
money14/25
attention0/25
audience0/12
force7/8
  • Hard deadline in 78 days.
  • The change is forced: it reaches users even if they wait.

  1. 1 Related discussions

    Only threads tied to this event that talk about leaving, moving or prices. Saved, not live. Check the date and read the thread before replying.

    No live threads yet.

  2. 2 What leavers ask

    No common questions yet.

  3. 3 Reply templates

    Answer the question first. Link only if it helps. Always keep the disclosure line. Never post the same text twice.

    Helpful first
    Sorry you have to deal with this. Google Custom Search JSON API closes on January 1, 2027. Save what you can first:

1. List what uses the API. Find every app, script and plugin that calls the Custom Search JSON API with your key.
2. Searching only your own sites?. With 50 or fewer domains, Search Element users can switch to "Sites to search" for free. API users can try Vertex AI Search.
3. Need the whole web? Pick a new source. Contact Google about its full web search, or test another search API. Switch before January 1, 2027.

To replace Google Custom Search JSON API, describe a verified way <your product> can help: <your link>
[Disclosure: I build <your product>.]
    Short answer
    Google Custom Search JSON API closes on January 1, 2027. Save what you can first: list what uses the API. Then searching only your own sites?.
Happy to help if you get stuck with the move.
[Disclosure: I build <your product>.]

  4. 4 Switch-page builder

    Create a draft “Switch from Google Custom Search JSON API” page. Add your product, review every claim, then copy HTML or Markdown. Your product claims need your own evidence.

    • Add your product name to replace “Your product”.
    Preview

    Switch from Google Custom Search JSON API to Your product

    Google Custom Search JSON API closes on January 1. Here is how to save what you can and move to Your product.

    What closes at Google Custom Search JSON API

    The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Existing customers must move by January 1, 2027. Engines that use "Search the entire web" lose it the same day.

    • Existing customers must move by: January 1, 2027 (Google)
    • New customers: Closed to new customers (Google)
    • Free use until then: 100 search queries per day (Google)
    • Paid use until then: $5 per 1000 queries, up to 10k queries per day (Google)
    • Google's suggested path: Vertex AI Search, for searching up to 50 domains (Google)
    • Need the whole web?: Google asks you to contact it about its full web search solution (Google)
    • Search Element with "Search the entire web": Existing engines can use it until January 1, 2027 (Google)
    • Site search ("Sites to search"): Free, for up to 50 domains (Google)
    • Announced: January 20, 2026 (Google)
    • Current API customers: Must move to another solution by January 1, 2027 (Google)

    This is a full shutdown, not a pause. When the service closes, files and lists you did not save may be gone.

    What Your product gives you

    Write two or three short lines here. Say what Your product does, who it is for, and what it costs. Use only facts you can show.

    How to move from Google Custom Search JSON API to Your product

    1. List what uses the API. Find every app, script and plugin that calls the Custom Search JSON API with your key.
    2. Searching only your own sites?. With 50 or fewer domains, Search Element users can switch to "Sites to search" for free. API users can try Vertex AI Search.
    3. Need the whole web? Pick a new source. Contact Google about its full web search, or test another search API. Switch before January 1, 2027.
    4. Import into Your product. Say which files you accept and how long an import takes.

    Tell readers the key date: January 1, 2027.

    Questions people ask

    If Your product has a direct answer to one of these, add it here. Keep it short and true.

    How to help new users settle in

    Send one short email. Say what changed, where to find you now, and what they need to do. Put the most important line first.

    If there is a date, send a short reminder a few days before it. Keep a copy of the list you sent it to.

    Sources

  5. 5 Search ideas to validate

    suggested, not measured Phrases people may search when a tool changes like this. We have no search volume data for them.

    • google custom search json api alternative
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    • google custom search json api shutting down 2027
    • google custom search json api to brave search api
    • google custom search json api to tavily