Web search providers
Configure Tavily, Perplexity, or Linkup as the backend for the web_search tool. Per-workflow + per-agent.
Cerevisor's web_search tool needs a backend. Three are supported:
| Provider | Strengths |
|---|---|
| Tavily | Built for LLM agents. Clean JSON, source URLs, decent recency. |
| Perplexity | Synthesized answers + sources. Often more analytical. |
| Linkup | Strong recency + European source coverage. |
Plan requirement: included on the trial, Pro and Founding membership. Not on Free.
Configuration
Settings → Web Search lists every provider. For each:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| API key | Paste your key, then Save key. Stored in the OS keychain. Clear removes it. |
| Test | Checks the key before you save it. |
The Active provider selector at the top of the tab picks the workflow-wide default: Disabled / Tavily / Perplexity / Linkup.
Per-agent overrides
In an Agent Config popup, the Search Provider field picks an override:
- Default: use the workflow's active provider.
- Tavily / Perplexity / Linkup: use this provider for this agent.
To turn web search off, set the workflow's active provider to Disabled — there's no per-agent off switch.
Useful when a workflow uses one provider broadly but a specific agent needs a different one (e.g. Linkup for EU-source coverage on one researcher agent).
Getting an API key
- Tavily: tavily.com: sign up, generate key from dashboard.
- Perplexity: perplexity.ai/settings/api: requires Pro subscription for API access.
- Linkup: linkup.so: sign up, generate key.
Test before saving
The Test button on each provider sends one small search and tells you whether the key works. Your key never appears in an error message.
If the test fails:
401/403: invalid key.429: rate limited or quota exhausted.Network timeout: provider unreachable, or you don't have internet.
How the web_search tool calls the provider
When an agent calls web_search, Cerevisor:
- Resolves the agent's search provider (per-agent override → workflow active provider).
- If nothing usable is configured, the tool returns a "not configured" error to the agent.
- Otherwise, calls the provider's search API.
- Returns the structured results to the agent: title, URL, snippet, publish date (when available).
The agent processes the results in its own loop, typically following up with web_fetch calls on URLs it wants to read in full.
Cost
Each provider bills per API call (sometimes per result returned). Cerevisor doesn't track web-search cost in its run cost display: the cost lives on your provider's dashboard.
For heavy research workflows, Linkup is often the cheapest at scale; Perplexity is more expensive but produces richer output.
When you don't have a search provider
The web_search tool fails gracefully, returns an error to the agent. Agents that explicitly list web_search in their allowed tools also trigger a pre-run warning when no provider (or no key) is configured, so you'll know before the run — the run still starts.
For workflows that don't need web search, set the active provider to Disabled and skip configuration.
A provider that isn't listed
If you use a search provider that isn't in the list, tell us at support@cerevisor.com.