Claude (Anthropic) integrates web search... but not with Google

Anthropic announces the official integration of the Brave Search engine into its conversational agent Claude. A major step that combines freshness of information with respect for privacy.

Claude is evolving and can access the web in real time

Until now, the conversational agent Claude, developed by Anthropic, relied primarily on its internal knowledge, without the ability to update instantly. Since March 19, 2025, the company Anthropic has officially added Brave Search to its list of subcontractors, allowing Claude to perform real-time web searches.

This new feature, called “Web Search,” is currently offered in preview to paying users in the United States using the Claude 3.7 Sonnet version. Anthropic specifies, however, that this option will soon be available to users with a free account.

Why choose Brave Search?

The partnership with Brave Search is no accident. The Brave search engine has naturally established itself thanks to several strengths that align perfectly with Anthropic’s values:

• Complete respect for privacy: Brave Search is known for its no-user-tracking model, thereby ensuring excellent data privacy.
• Neutrality and transparency of results: By removing common algorithmic biases, Brave guarantees objective and balanced results.
• Responsiveness and freshness of information: Claude users can now benefit from content and responses updated at the time of their search.

This decision reflects an underlying trend among users, who are increasingly sensitive to protecting their privacy online and to the transparency of the technologies used.

A simple but controlled activation

Using this new feature remains simple while being well structured, with prior activation required by account administrators:

• For Business accounts: Activation must be performed by the primary owner from the general settings (Settings > Data Management > Web Search).
• For Team accounts: Activation is done in the Settings > Integrations > Web Search section.
• Once enabled at the account level, each affected user in the United States can choose to enable or disable web search individually from their personal settings.

How web search with Claude works in practice

In practice, when a user asks a question requiring recent data, Claude:

• Automatically performs a real-time web search via Brave Search.
• Synthesizes and analyzes multiple sources to provide a complete and reliable answer.
• Systematically lists the sources used with direct links, allowing the user to verify and deepen the provided information.

Anthropic nevertheless points out some limitations and precautions:

• Search availability may occasionally be affected by connectivity or the temporary unavailability of certain websites.
• Claude does not access the user's location data, which means results will not be automatically personalized by geography.
• The company recommends always verifying important information directly via the cited sources.

A strategic decision aligned with Anthropic's values

With this Brave Search integration, Anthropic clearly stakes out its position: an innovative technology that remains respectful of users and mindful of digital ethical issues.

This strategy also mirrors choices made by other market players, such as the French startup Mistral, which also relies on Brave Search for its conversational agent 'Le Chat'.

In conclusion, this partnership between Anthropic and Brave represents a significant development that is particularly consistent with current expectations regarding privacy and access to objective, up-to-date information.

The article “Claude (Anthropic) integrates web search... but not with Google” was published on the site Abondance.