Microsoft is retiring its Bing Search APIs, including Web and Custom Search, on August 11, 2025. This decision marks a significant shift in the company's focus towards AI-powered solutions. After the retirement date, existing resources will be disabled, and new deployments won't be available.
The affected services include Bing Web Search and Custom Search APIs, which will impact all tiers of service, from free users to paid customers. Microsoft recommends transitioning to "Grounding with Bing Search" as part of Azure AI Agents. This feature allows Azure AI Agents to incorporate real-time public web data when generating responses with large language models (LLMs).
Developers will need to adapt to new service architectures, API models, and potentially different cost structures. Microsoft notes that search queries and resource keys will be transmitted to the Bing service, which operates outside Azure's standard compliance boundaries. Developers must assess whether this aligns with their compliance requirements.
Microsoft advises reviewing current usage of Bing Search APIs, identifying potentially affected resources, and making timely migration arrangements. Support is available through email for those with specific questions about the transition.
This move reflects Microsoft's broader strategic shift toward integrating AI technologies across its product ecosystem. The retirement of Bing Search APIs underscores the rapidly evolving landscape of search and AI technologies, with traditional API-based search services giving way to more integrated, AI-enhanced information retrieval systems.
