{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "content_item_id": "platform-claude-search.en",
  "translation_group_id": "platform-claude-search",
  "locale": "en",
  "type": "platform",
  "section": "platforms",
  "slug": "claude-search",
  "title": "Claude web search",
  "description": "How to read Claude's publicly documented web search: from enabling the feature to checking a cited link.",
  "direct_answer": "Anthropic's official documentation confirms Claude web search and sources shown in responses. It does not disclose a universal ranking formula, the complete retrieval pipeline, or a rule that every accessible page will be selected and cited. Evaluate Claude through preserved answers and links, while measuring site access separately.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "What is documented",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Anthropic's official page describes Claude web search as a capability for consulting the web while answering. The documentation also shows responses accompanied by sources that can be opened and checked. That is an observable product feature, not a promise of a particular place for any page in an answer.",
        "The page does not reveal internal indexes, candidate weights, or hidden query routing. Those details remain unknown here rather than being filled with guesses."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Enabling web search",
      "paragraphs": [
        "When testing, record whether web search was enabled, which interface and model were used, and the date and region. A web-enabled answer and an answer without search are different experimental conditions and should not share one metric.",
        "The statement that Claude can search means the feature is available; it does not mean every question will trigger the same set of web sources. Preserve the visible mode indicator or equivalent evidence with the answer."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "What counts as a source",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Preserve the full answer, source title, displayed URL, and the passage the source is expected to support. A domain appearing in a list is not the same as an exact page. If a link leads to an intermediate screen, record that separately.",
        "A source shown in the interface demonstrates reader-visible attribution. It does not prove Claude used every word on the page or that the page was the sole reason for the conclusion."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Site access and robots",
      "paragraphs": [
        "For your own site, separately check HTTP status, redirects, robots.txt, authentication, text HTML, and access to linked pages. Successful delivery is a useful technical fact, but it does not by itself prove indexing, retrieval, or citation.",
        "Anthropic's web-search page is not a specification of all crawler identities and does not justify assigning a particular Claude request to a specific User-Agent. Do not label an unknown agent as verified."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "A reproducible test",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Build a fixed panel of informational, comparative, and entity-specific questions. For every run store the prompt, language, region, search mode, model, timestamp, full answer, and every link. Repeat under matching conditions so context changes are not confused with product changes.",
        "A negative result is also an artifact: an answer may omit the target page, or a source may disappear or change. Keep such cases in the sample; otherwise the citation rate will look better than the observed reality."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Logs and observation limits",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Server logs show an incoming request, URL, status, response size, and timing. They help verify HTML delivery and find errors, but do not show which passage was selected inside the service or whether it was shown to a person.",
        "Do not turn timing into causality: an unknown bot visit after publication is not the same as the article appearing in a Claude answer. Citation requires a preserved user-facing answer with a verifiable link."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Separate metrics",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Separate fetch, an observed search signal, retrieval, mention, exact citation, and referral in reports. State the sample and denominator for every measure. A page can be cited without a visit, while a visit does not prove how fully it was used.",
        "A visit from a Claude-related bot, if observed at all, is not proof of AI visibility. A visible answer, URL, and human referral are stronger but still separate events."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Practical conclusion",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Publish clear, accessible HTML with stable URLs, precise claims, and primary sources because such material is easier for people and systems to check. This is an editorial recommendation, not a documented formula for entering Claude's answers.",
        "Repeat the panel after changes and retain answer versions. If a source, search mode, or interface changes, qualify the comparison and state the limitation. A good report shows the boundary between what is evidenced and what remains unknown, rather than promising visibility."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2026-09-11",
  "modified_at": "2026-09-11",
  "data_through": "2026-09-11",
  "next_review_at": "2026-10-11",
  "author": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "origin": "editorial",
  "publisher": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "canonical_url": "https://geoaeoale.com/en/platforms/claude-search/",
  "claims": [
    {
      "claim_id": "claude-web-search-documentation",
      "text": "Anthropic describes Claude web search as a capability that returns web results and sources in the context of an answer.",
      "status": "observed",
      "confidence": "high",
      "source_ids": [
        "claude-web-search"
      ],
      "publication_status": "public",
      "confidentiality": "public"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "claude-web-search",
      "canonical_url": "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/10684626-enabling-and-using-web-search",
      "title": "Enabling and using web search",
      "publisher": "Anthropic Support",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "ef0ca674ff3499133c011e53057332bf9acb644c2c4d5b31fe6b836b811c33e9",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    }
  ],
  "related_slugs": [
    "retrieval",
    "ai-citation",
    "crawler"
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Public documentation describes the feature and visible sources, but not internal indexes, ranking, crawler identities, retrieval completeness, or causality between access and citation. The interface and access conditions may change."
  ],
  "corrections": []
}