Does Grok have real-time web search? How it works

Yes. Grok, the AI assistant from xAI, has real-time web search through a built-in web search tool and a native integration with X.

Getting fresh information for AI assistants is an enormous use case for Exa, and Exa also is a popular plugin for the Grok Build marketplace – so we have some unique perspective on how this feature works under the hood.

When you ask Grok a question, it decides whether each question requires a search of the web, public X posts, or both. Developers can use the same retrieval tools through the xAI API. Below, we go into specifics about how Grok’s web search works, and when a dedicated search API such as Exa fits better.

How Grok's real-time search works

• Live web retrieval. xAI's Web Search tool lets Grok search the internet in real time and browse pages for current information. Its answers include citations to the pages it uses.

• X integration. Grok can search public X posts as well as the web. The X help page on Grok says that access to real-time posts supports up-to-date answers. xAI's product page also identifies X as a source of breaking news and trends.

• DeepSearch. xAI launched DeepSearch with Grok 3 in February 2025 as its first agent. DeepSearch gathers information, evaluates conflicting facts and opinions, and produces a concise report.

• Developer access. The xAI API provides web_search and x_search as server-side tools. Developers add them to the tools array in a Responses API request, and xAI runs the searches on its servers.

Grok's web search limits

According to xAI's models page, the API models cannot access current events unless a search tool is enabled. Grok 4.7, xAI's current model, has a knowledge cutoff of May 2026. The web search tool accepts up to five allowed domains or five excluded domains, but you cannot use both options in one request. xAI also warns that search costs rise with query complexity because the model decides how many searches to run. X's help page notes that Grok can still state incorrect facts with confidence.

Using Grok's search tools in an app

You can choose which search tool your Grok app calls. xAI's web_search costs $5 per 1,000 calls, plus token costs. X Search uses a separate usage-based model: since September 21, 2026, X Search has billed users for each post and profile fetched.

Alternatively, developers can use a dedicated search API. Exa costs $7 per 1,000 requests, with up to ten results per request. Grok can access Exa through xAI's Remote MCP tools by connecting to Exa's MCP server. xAI charges for the tokens used but does not add a per-call fee. Exa is also available as a plugin in Grok Build. The native search tools from Anthropic and OpenAI each cost $10 per 1,000 searches.

Exa's main advantage here is portability. The same Exa query settings, filters, and highlights work when you move an app from Grok to Claude, GPT, or Gemini.

FAQ

Is Grok's web search free?

In the Grok apps, you can turn on search in the chat. The Grok product page says Grok is free to try, while SuperGrok provides higher usage limits. Through the API, web search costs $5 per 1,000 calls, plus token costs.

Can the xAI API search X posts?

Yes. The x_search tool supports keyword, semantic, and user searches on X and can fetch threads. You can filter results by handle and date range. Since September 21, 2026, X Search has charged $5 per 1,000 posts fetched and $10 per 1,000 profiles fetched.