SERP API Legal and Terms

What Google's terms say

Google's terms restrict using automated means to access content from its services. The terms say this applies where it breaks the machine-readable rules on Google's pages, such as robots.txt directives. They also list scraping content that does not belong to you as a reason Google may suspend or end access.

The terms also prohibit using AI-generated content from Google's services to build machine learning models. If your pipeline stores SERP output to train a model, read that clause before you build.

The terms address how you use the services, so a one-off lookup and a large stored dataset can raise different questions. Write down the purpose of each use, and review it when the purpose changes.

Vendor terms are a separate question

Each SERP API vendor sets its own terms. SerpApi's search API page does not include terms or legal statements, so read its terms pages before you sign up. Check the rules on data retention, resale and caching, because they decide what you may do with the results after you receive them.

If you store personal data, ask the vendor for its data processing terms. Confirm where its servers are located and how long it keeps request logs. Read the acceptable use rules too, because a vendor can suspend an account for breaking them.

Official APIs that have closed

Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, and existing use must end by January 1, 2027. Microsoft's Bing Search APIs were retired on August 11, 2025. Microsoft points customers to Grounding with Bing Search in Azure AI Agents as the migration path. A migration plan for any retired API should name the replacement, the owner of the change and the date it takes effect.

Practical steps

Keep a record of the queries you run and the terms you accepted. Honor robots directives, store only what you need, and do not use results to train a model unless the terms allow it. Hyperresearch Answers returns quotes with source URLs, which makes attribution simpler, but you must still follow the rules for each source.

Consider a short internal policy. It should list the APIs your team may use, say who approves a new vendor, and state how results are stored and deleted.

Checklist

• Read Google's terms and any vendor terms before you build.
• Check robots directives on every site you fetch after a search.
• Record the queries you run, the dates and the terms you accepted.
• Set a retention limit for stored results and delete what you do not need.
• Ask counsel to review any plan that uses results for model training.

Questions & answers

Sources for this entry

• Google Terms of Service
• Google Custom Search JSON API overview
• Microsoft Lifecycle: Bing Search APIs retirement
• SerpApi Google search API

Vendor descriptions are attributed to the vendor. Prices change; confirm with each vendor.

Continue this reading path

• SERP APIs
• Best SERP API
• Resource directory

Cite this entry