Let the assistant search the web

Web search uses a Brave Search API key, added on the same screen as your model keys but listed separately, because it is not a model provider. *Corrected 2026-10-11: a key is no longer required. With no key the assistant searches a few public sites directly from your computer, and a Brave key you add still takes priority. See the guide on web search with no key.

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Steps

  1. Get an API key from the Brave Search API. Brave offers a free tier suitable for personal use. *Corrected 2026-10-12: this step is now optional. Web search works with no key, and a Brave key you add simply takes priority.
  2. Open Settings, then Intelligence, then API keys.
  3. Brave Search sits at the end of the list, below the model providers. Add the key there.

How to tell it worked

Ask the assistant something that requires current information. If it can answer, the key is live. *Corrected 2026-10-12: with no key, a question that fits the built-in public sites is answered anyway, after an approval card that names each site the text goes to.

If it does not work

You cannot find Brave in the "Add a key" list.
It is intentionally kept out of that dropdown and given its own row, so that a missing search key never hides behind a missing model key. Look below the model providers.