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The Programmable Search
Element now offers a paid
ads-free version. By enabling the Programmable Search Element Paid API your
Programmable Search Element will continue to function exactly the same as the
free ad-supported version, except that instead of ads being displayed along with
search results you'll instead be charged a small fee for each search.
Note that our nonprofit, education, and government users can get an ads-free
experience by following these
instructions.
Prerequisites
Search engine configuration
Before using the Programmable Search Element Paid API you first need to create
and configure your Programmable Search Engine. If you have not already created a Programmable Search Engine, you
can start by visiting the Programmable Search Engine control panel.
Follow the tutorial to learn more
about different configuration options.
API key
The Programmable Search Element API requires the use of an API key. Get a Key
Once you have a Programmable Search Element API key, you can add this key to
your search engine using the Programmable Search Engine control panel. Navigate to the Ads section of your search engine's
Overview page and paste your key in the "Paid Element API key" field.
Congratulations, the Programmable Search Element API is now active for this
search engine!
If at any point you wish to return to the free ad-supported search element, just
delete the key from this field in the control panel.
Pricing
The Programmable Search Element API charges $5 per 1000 ad-free search element
queries. Billing needs to be configured in the
API Console. Quotas can be configured in the Cloud Platform
Console to help limit maximum
daily expenditures.
Note that new consumer projects will default to unlimited daily quota; we
strongly recommend setting a daily quota that is sufficient for
your traffic volume. Once the daily quota limit is reached all search element
queries using the engine will be denied for the remainder of the day. Note also
that per-minute and per-user per-minute quota controls are also available (with
IP address being used to distinguish between users).
Monitoring
Two options are available for monitoring usage of the Programmable Search
Element API. First, Cloud Platform Console's API
Dashboard provides a variety
of pre-built graphs for monitoring common metrics such as error rates and
queries-per-second. Second, the Google Cloud Operations console provides
powerful tools for building custom graphs and also for setting up alerting. See
API Monitoring for more information.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-05-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Programmable Search Element now offers a paid ads-free version, charging a small fee per search instead of displaying ads.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eNonprofits, educational institutions, and government users can access an ads-free experience through a separate process.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo use the paid version, you need to configure a Programmable Search Engine, obtain an API key, and add it to your search engine settings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe pricing is $5 per 1000 ad-free searches, with billing and quota management handled through the Google Cloud Platform.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can monitor usage and set up alerts using tools provided in the Cloud Platform Console and Google Cloud Operations console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["The [Programmable Search\nElement](/custom-search/docs/tutorial/implementingsearchbox) now offers a paid\nads-free version. By enabling the Programmable Search Element Paid API your\nProgrammable Search Element will continue to function exactly the same as the\nfree ad-supported version, except that instead of ads being displayed along with\nsearch results you'll instead be charged a small fee for each search.\n\nNote that our nonprofit, education, and government users can get an ads-free\nexperience by following [these\ninstructions](https://support.google.com/programmable-search/answer/12423873).\n\nPrerequisites\n\nSearch engine configuration\n\nBefore using the Programmable Search Element Paid API you first need to create\nand configure your Programmable Search Engine. If you have not already created a Programmable Search Engine, you\ncan start by visiting the [Programmable Search Engine control panel](https://programmablesearchengine.google.com/controlpanel/all).\n\nFollow the [tutorial](/custom-search/docs/tutorial/creatingcse) to learn more\nabout different configuration options.\n\nAPI key\n\nThe Programmable Search Element API requires the use of an API key. Get a Key\n\nOnce you have a Programmable Search Element API key, you can add this key to\nyour search engine using the [Programmable Search Engine control panel](https://programmablesearchengine.google.com/controlpanel/all). Navigate to the Ads section of your search engine's\nOverview page and paste your key in the \"Paid Element API key\" field.\nCongratulations, the Programmable Search Element API is now active for this\nsearch engine!\n\nIf at any point you wish to return to the free ad-supported search element, just\ndelete the key from this field in the control panel.\n\nPricing\n\nThe Programmable Search Element API charges $5 per 1000 ad-free search element\nqueries. [Billing](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/manage-billing-account) needs to be configured in the\nAPI Console. Quotas can be configured in the [Cloud Platform\nConsole](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/dashboard) to help limit maximum\ndaily expenditures.\n\nNote that new consumer projects will default to unlimited daily quota; we\n*strongly* recommend setting a [daily quota](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/api/programmablesearchelement.googleapis.com/quotas) that is sufficient for\nyour traffic volume. Once the daily quota limit is reached all search element\nqueries using the engine will be denied for the remainder of the day. Note also\nthat per-minute and per-user per-minute quota controls are also available (with\nIP address being used to distinguish between users).\n\nMonitoring\n\nTwo options are available for monitoring usage of the Programmable Search\nElement API. First, [Cloud Platform Console's API\nDashboard](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/dashboard) provides a variety\nof pre-built graphs for monitoring common metrics such as error rates and\nqueries-per-second. Second, the Google Cloud Operations console provides\npowerful tools for building custom graphs and also for setting up alerting. See\n[API Monitoring](/custom-search/v1/overview#monitoring) for more information."]]