Brave AI Grounding API Offers Free Tier and Claims Over 50% Single-Search Query Resolution

Brave, known for its privacy-focused browser and search engine, has announced the launch of its AI Grounding API, designed to enhance the accuracy and reliability of artificial intelligence systems. The new API aims to combat AI hallucinations by connecting AI models directly to Brave Search's extensive and independent web index, with plans starting at a free tier. This development, highlighted by SearchEngineJournal®, targets developers and organizations seeking to ground their AI applications with authoritative web information.

The AI Grounding API enables AI systems to access verifiable data sources, thereby reducing factual inaccuracies and improving response quality. It supports various applications, including agentic search, the training of foundational models, and the creation of new search-enabled tools. Brave asserts that this integration allows AI outputs to be anchored in high-quality, factual information from the web.

Brave claims its new API delivers "State Of The Art Performance" in both single-search and multi-search configurations, surpassing competitors in accuracy. According to Brave's announcement, the API can "answer more than half of all questions with a single search," achieving a median response time of 24.2 seconds for such queries. For more complex questions, the system averages 7 search queries, analyzing 210 unique pages, and completes the process in approximately 74 seconds.

The API is available through a tiered pricing structure to accommodate diverse user needs. The "Free AI" plan offers 1 query per second and a monthly limit of 5,000 queries, suitable for initial exploration and development. For commercial use, the "Base AI" plan is priced at $5.00 per 1,000 requests, allowing up to 20 queries per second and 20 million queries per month. The "Pro AI" plan, at $9.00 per 1,000 requests, provides up to 50 queries per second and unlimited monthly queries, both including rights for use in AI applications.

Brave emphasizes its independent search index and privacy-preserving practices as key differentiators, positioning the AI Grounding API as a reliable choice for developers prioritizing data integrity and user privacy. This initiative builds on Brave Search's existing infrastructure, which already powers features like "Answer with AI" in Brave Search and supplies real-time web data to several leading large language models.