Overview

• Microsoft confirmed the Bing Search APIs will be decommissioned on August 11, 2025, ending access for most third-party developers.
• The company is directing developers to adopt 'Grounding with Bing Search' via Azure AI Agents, which integrates AI-generated summaries with real-time web data.
• Major customers with private agreements, including DuckDuckGo, will retain API access, while smaller developers scramble to find alternatives.
• The decision follows years of rising costs for Bing APIs, including a 2023 price hike of up to 900%, which prompted some companies to build their own search indexes.
• Rival search platforms like Brave, Mojeek, and You.com are positioning themselves to capture users displaced by the Bing API shutdown.