Google Announces Experimental AJAX Search API

June 2, 2006; 05:31 AM

The Google AJAX Search API is an experimental API that lets webmasters integrate a dynamic Google search module into web pages so visitors can mash up Google search results with other content on a website or add search results clippings to their own content.  In other words, it is a Javascript library that allows webmasters to embed Google Search in web pages and other web applications. The project website, complete with documentation, is available at http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/ .

The AJAX Search API is currently in Version 0.1. According to Google, it is an experiment designed to get developer feedback and may change dramatically over the next several months, so it should not be deployed on mission-critical web sites. When Google formally launches Version 1.0, it will likely require code changes. Version 1.0 will also likely contain advertising.

The API is a free beta service, available for any web site that is free to consumers.  In order to use it, webmasters need to sign up for a Google AJAX Search API key at http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/signup.html .