Web Search
Elftia integrates multiple Web search engines, allowing AI to access real-time internet information in conversations. It supports both API search services and local browser automation modes, with the ability to enable multiple engines simultaneously for result aggregation.
Use Cases
- Have AI search for latest news, technical documentation, or product information in conversations
- Get real-time data (stock prices, weather, game scores, etc.)
- Let AI answer questions requiring internet connectivity based on search results
- Use Jina Reader to extract full webpage content for AI analysis
- Use local browser search when no API Key is available
Supported Search Engines
| Engine | Type | Requires API Key | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tavily | API Search | Yes | Search API optimized for AI, returns structured summaries |
| Jina | API Search + Web Reader | Yes | Search engine + web content full-text extraction (Jina Reader) |
| Searxng | Self-hosted Meta Search | No (needs instance URL) | Open-source meta search engine aggregating multiple search engines |
| Zhipu (Zhipu AI) | API Search | Yes | Zhipu AI's Web search API, optimized for Chinese content |
| Z.AI | API Search | Yes | Z.AI's search API |
| Claude Search | API Search | Yes | Claude's built-in search capability |
| Local Google | Local Browser | No | Google search via local browser automation |
| Local Bing | Local Browser | No | Bing search via local browser automation |
| Local Baidu | Local Browser | No | Baidu search via local browser automation |
Configuring Search Engines
Steps
- Open Settings > Web Search
- Find the search engine you want to use
- Configure according to engine type (see configuration table below)
- Enable the engine
API Search Engine Configuration
| Configuration | Description | Applicable Engines |
|---|---|---|
| API Key | API key for the search service | Tavily, Jina, Zhipu, Z.AI, Claude |
| API Host | Custom API endpoint (optional) | All API engines |
| Enable Status | Whether to enable this engine | All engines |
Searxng Configuration
| Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
| API Host | URL of the Searxng instance (e.g., http://localhost:8888) |
| Basic Auth Username | HTTP basic auth username (optional) |
| Basic Auth Password | HTTP basic auth password (optional) |
| Enable Status | Whether to enable |
Local Browser Engines
Local browser engines don't require API Keys and directly access search engines through browser automation:
- Local Google — Automatically operate browser for Google search
- Local Bing — Automatically operate browser for Bing search
- Local Baidu — Automatically operate browser for Baidu search
Just enable in settings to use.
:::info Login Window Some search engines may require login. Elftia provides a dedicated login window where you can complete login operations for search engines, with login state persisted. :::
Using Search in Conversations
Enabling Search
Web search is enabled per session. In the chat interface:
- Open the settings panel for your current session
- Enable the Web Search option
- Select which search engine to use (if multiple are configured)
Search Flow
After enabling search, AI automatically triggers search when real-time information is needed:
User question → AI decides if search is needed → Send search request → Get search results → AI synthesizes results to answer
Search results are provided as context to AI, which generates more accurate answers based on the found information.
Multi-Engine Result Aggregation
When multiple search engines are enabled simultaneously, Elftia supports parallel multi-engine search and result aggregation:
- Send search requests to all enabled engines in parallel
- Aggregate results from all engines
- Deduplicate and rank results before providing to AI
This approach can yield more comprehensive search results and improve answer quality.
Jina Reader
Jina Reader is a full-text webpage reading feature included with Jina search engine, capable of extracting webpage content from any URL into structured text format.
Features
- Extract main text content from webpages (removing navigation, ads, and other distractions)
- Return title, description, and body content
- Support timeout configuration
- Reader functionality automatically becomes available after configuring Jina search engine with API Key
Use Cases
- Have AI read and analyze content from specified webpages
- Extract information from online documents
- Retrieve full text from articles and papers
Search Result Format
Each search result contains the following information:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title (title) | Title of the search result |
| Content (content) | Summary or text snippet of the result |
| URL (url) | Source webpage address |
Search response also includes:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Success (success) | Whether the search request succeeded |
| Query (query) | Search keywords used |
| Provider (provider) | Identifier of the search engine that executed the search |
Search Engine Selection Recommendations
| Need | Recommended Engine |
|---|---|
| General search, AI-optimized | Tavily |
| Chinese content search | Zhipu (Zhipu AI) or Local Baidu |
| Full webpage content extraction | Jina (search + Reader) |
| No API Key required | Local Google / Local Bing / Local Baidu |
| Self-hosted, privacy-first | Searxng |
| Data security, internal network | Searxng (self-hosted) or Local engines |
API Key Rotation
Some search engines (e.g., Tavily, Jina) support configuring multiple API Keys. When configuring API Keys, use comma-separated multiple keys, and the system automatically rotates:
key1,key2,key3
When a Key hits rate limits, the system automatically switches to the next key.
FAQs
| Question | Solution |
|---|---|
| Search returns no results | Check if search engine is enabled and API Key is correct |
| Search is slow | Local browser engines may be slower, API engines recommended first |
| Searxng connection failed | Confirm Searxng instance is running, check URL and auth info |
| Local engines banned by search engine | Frequent local engine use may trigger anti-crawling, switch to API engines |
| AI not using search results | Confirm Web Search is enabled in current session |
| Search results not relevant to question | Try describing the problem more clearly or use a different search engine |
| Jina Reader content incomplete | Some webpages may have anti-crawling protection, try logging in using login window first |