Search the entire web for current information, news, articles, and websites. Use this when you need up-to-date information, want to find specific websites, research topics, or get the latest news. Ideal for answering questions about recent events, finding resources, or discovering relevant content.
AI agents call search_web to retrieve information from Jina AI without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
gl | string | — | Country code, e.g., 'dz' for Algeria |
hl | string | — | Language code, e.g., 'zh-cn' for Simplified Chinese |
num | number | — | Maximum number of search results to return, between 1-100 |
tbs | string | — | Time-based search parameter, e.g., 'qdr:h' for past hour, can be qdr:h, qdr:d, qdr:w, qdr:m, qdr:y |
query | object | — | Search terms or keywords to find relevant web content (e.g., 'climate change news 2024', 'best pizza recipe'). Can be a single query string or an array of queri |
location | string | — | Location for search results, e.g., 'London', 'New York', 'Tokyo' |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
search_web is a query/retrieval operation that fetches publicly available web data without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing operations. It has no side effects on external systems or data. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an AI agent could conduct excessive searches or retrieve irrelevant information, but cannot harm data integrity or trigger external actions.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it "Search[es] the entire web for current information, news, articles, and websites" with use cases including "answering questions about recent events, finding resources, or discovering relevant content." The verb "Search" and outcome…
Risk signalsAccepts freeform code/query input (query) · Bulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_web gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Jina AI, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_web:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_web": {}
}
}search_web is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
Search the entire web for current information, news, articles, and websites. Use this when you need up-to-date information, want to find specific websites, research topics, or get the latest news. Ideal for answering questions about recent events, finding resources, or discovering relevant content. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Jina AI MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
search_web accepts 6 parameters: gl, hl, num, tbs, query, location. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Jina AI MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_web: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Jina AI. Nothing to install.
search_web is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search_web rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for search_web. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
search_web is provided by the Jina AI MCP server (jina). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Jina AI, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
21 Jina AI tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.