Web Search Tools

Boards and Agent answers are only as current as the information behind them. Enable web search and the AI can pull fresh facts from the internet while generating boards or answering questions. Corkulous supports several search methods that you can use individually or combine.

What Web Search Does

With web search enabled, AI can:

• Find current news and events
• Look up recent statistics and data
• Research topics with up-to-date information
• Verify facts and find sources
• Read content from specific web pages

Search Methods

Corkulous offers multiple ways to search the web. Enable as many as you like:

Method	Best For	Requires
Native Provider Search	Search through compatible Anthropic, Google, or xAI models	Supported model, provider access, and enabled search settings
OpenAI Web Search	Current information via OpenAI’s search capabilities	Toggle in the Tools tab
Brave Search	Fast, privacy-focused web and image search	Brave API key
Firecrawl	Reading full web pages as clean text	Firecrawl API key
Perplexity	Summarized answers with citations	Perplexity API key
HTTP Fetch	Reading a specific URL	Toggle in the Tools tab

Native Provider Search

Some AI providers have built-in web search capabilities. With a supported model and search enabled, AI can use that provider’s native search integration:

• Anthropic — Claude models can search the web natively.
• Google — Gemini models include built-in search.
• xAI — Grok models support native web search.

Native search uses the existing provider credential, but availability still depends on the selected model, provider account, and search settings. Search can add provider charges.

OpenAI Web Search

OpenAI offers a dedicated web search tool. When turned on, AI can use OpenAI’s search capabilities to find current information during board generation and Agent requests.

To enable: go to the Tools tab and turn on Enable OpenAI Web Search.

Brave Search

Brave Search is a third-party search engine with privacy-focused web and image search capabilities.

• Fast web searches
• Image searching
• Get your key at brave.com/search/api

To set up: go to the Tools tab, find the Brave Search section, enter your API key, and tap Save. Use the toggle to enable or disable Brave Search at any time.

Firecrawl

Firecrawl extracts full web page content as clean text — especially useful for detailed research where AI needs to read entire articles or documents.

• Read full web page content
• Better for detailed research
• Get your key at firecrawl.dev

To set up: go to the Tools tab, find the Firecrawl section, enter your API key, and tap Save. Use the toggle to enable or disable Firecrawl at any time.

Perplexity

Perplexity uses its Sonar AI search engine to find and summarize web content with citations. It combines search with AI reasoning, so results come back as clear answers with source links rather than raw search results.

• AI-powered search with summarized answers
• Includes citations and source links
• Get your key at perplexity.ai/settings/api

To set up: go to the Tools tab, find the Perplexity section, enter your API key, and tap Save. Use the toggle to enable or disable Perplexity at any time.

HTTP Fetch

The HTTP Fetch tool lets AI retrieve content from specific URLs. Use it when you want AI to read a particular web page rather than searching for one.

To enable: go to the Tools tab and turn on Enable HTTP Fetch Tool.

Choosing a Preferred Search Method

In the General tab, you can set a Preferred Web Search provider. This tells Corkulous which search method to prefer when multiple are available. Your options depend on which search tools you have enabled.

If you don’t set a preference, Corkulous uses whichever search method is available for the current provider.

Enabling Web Search

1. Go to Settings → AI Settings.
2. Open the Tools tab.
3. Turn on the search tools you want to use (OpenAI Web Search, HTTP Fetch, Brave Search, Firecrawl, or Perplexity).
4. For Brave Search, Firecrawl, and Perplexity, enter your API keys.
5. Optionally, go to the General tab to set a preferred web search provider.

Tip: Web search works without any third-party keys if your text model provider supports native web search (like Anthropic, Google, or xAI).

Search sends queries and retrieved content to the services involved. Do not include confidential information unless you are authorized to share it. Search results and AI citations can be wrong; check the underlying source before relying on a claim.

Search queries can include information from your prompt or board, and a provider may retain those queries and its responses. Review the provider privacy and API data-use links, including the search services you enable. Pages reached through HTTP Fetch have their own policies.