aiWebSearch

BoxLang AI aiWebSearch() built-in function reference

Search the web using the configured or selected provider and return normalized results.

Syntax

aiWebSearch( query, options = {} )

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	Search query text
options	struct	No	Search options including provider, limits, filters, and logging

Common Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
provider	string	module default or http	Provider: http, brave, google, tavily, exa
maxResults	numeric	5	Maximum number of results
timeout	numeric	30	HTTP timeout in seconds
logRequest	boolean	false	Log provider request details
logResponse	boolean	false	Log provider response details

Provider-Specific Options

Brave

Option	Description
country	Country filter
language	Language filter
safeSearch	Safe search mode

Google

Option	Description
gl	Country target
hl	Interface language
safe	Safe search mode

Tavily

Option	Description
topic	Topic mode
includeAnswer	Include summary answer
includeRawContent	Include raw page content
days	Recency in days

Exa

Option	Description
type	keyword, neural, or magic
country	Country filter
language	Language filter

Returns

Array of structs with normalized fields:

[
    {
        title: "...",
        url: "...",
        snippet: "...",
        publishedDate: "...",
        domain: "...",
        score: 0.95,
        thumbnail: "...",
        language: "en"
    }
]

API keys follow the standard resolution order used in BoxLang AI integrations: constructor/config options, then module settings, then environment variables.

Events Fired

Event	When
beforeAIWebSearch	Before provider search execution
onAIWebSearchRequest	Right before HTTP request dispatch
onAIWebSearchResponse	After provider HTTP response
afterAIWebSearch	After successful search completion
onAIWebSearchError	On provider/search error

Examples

Default provider

results = aiWebSearch( "BoxLang AI" )

Brave search with filters

results = aiWebSearch(
    "latest BoxLang news",
    {
        provider: "brave",
        maxResults: 10,
        country: "us",
        language: "en",
        safeSearch: "moderate"
    }
)

Exa neural search

results = aiWebSearch(
    "agent memory retrieval patterns",
    {
        provider: "exa",
        type: "neural",
        maxResults: 8
    }
)

Agent usage

agent = aiAgent(
    name: "ResearchAgent",
    tools: [ "webSearch@bxai" ]
)

response = agent.run( "Find the latest BoxLang MCP updates" )