Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Google Programmable Search Engine

Google Programmable Search Engine is a platform provided by Google that allows web developers to feature specialized information in web searches, refine and categorize queries and create customized search engines, based on Google Search.

Last revised
May 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
542 w
Citations
16
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Google Programmable Search
Type of site
Web search engine
OwnerGoogle (Alphabet)
Created byGoogle
RevenueFrom AdWords
URLcse.google.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedOctober 24, 2006 (2006-10-24) (as Google Co-op)
Current statusActive
Written inC++1

Google Programmable Search Engine (formerly known as Google Custom Search and Google Co-op) is a platform provided by Google that allows web developers to feature specialized information in web searches, refine and categorize queries and create customized search engines, based on Google Search.2

Services

Custom Search Engine

Google Co-op logo source ↗

Released on October 23, 2006,3 Google Custom Search Engine started as a way to let webmasters index and provide search for their own sites.2 It also let anyone create their own search engine by searching a list of links as well as the sites linked from those sites.4 This allows custom search engine users to narrow the web that they are searching and have a less cluttered search experience.25 You can also limit the results to only originate from specific countries.5 The search engine can be integrated into Chrome6 and Firefox browsers.7

From 2014 until 2016, Custom Search Engines were among those found to be vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack leading to malware being installed on over 1 million computers.8

In 2019, the European Union fined Google for anti-trust violations for not allowing other advertisers to advertise in its custom search engines.9

As of January 2026, custom search engines can no longer query more than 50 domains.10

Topics

Topics are specific areas of search, which can be developed by people with knowledge of a certain subject. These topics are then displayed at the top of relevant Google web searches, so the user can refine the searches to what they want.11

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine". Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  2. Leswing, Kif (November 12, 2013). "Find Exactly What You're Looking for With Google's Custom Search Feature". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  3. "The Power of Google Search is Now Customizable". Google News from Google. October 23, 2006. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. Gilbertson, Scott (June 13, 2007). "Google Custom Search Engine Adds Dynamic Search Capabilities". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  5. Pot, Justin (December 3, 2024). "This Tool Lets You Build Your Own Version of Google". Lifehacker. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  6. Wallen, Jack (February 16, 2016). "How to add custom search engines in Chrome for more efficient searching". TechRepublic. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  7. "Add custom search engines in Firefox". support.mozilla.org. September 19, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  8. "An HTTPS hijacking click-fraud botnet now infects almost 1M computers". Computerworld. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  9. Amadeo, Ron (March 20, 2019). "The EU fines Google $1.69 billion for bundling search and advertising". Ars Technica. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  10. "Updates to our Web Search Products & Programmable Search Engine Capabilities". January 20, 2026.
  11. "Custom Search Advanced Topics". Google Help. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  12. "Bing Custom Search". Microsoft. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  13. Claburn, Thomas (May 10, 2017). "Microsoft is on the edge: Windows, Office? Naah. Let's talk about cloud, AI".
External links