Overview The basic response format is returned when analysis_mode is set to "basic" or omitted (default). This mode provides streamlined search results with citations, summaries, and metadata.
Response Structure The original search query that was executed
The analysis mode used for this search. Always "basic" for basic responses
Array of search result objects (max length determined by max_results parameter) The title or headline of the search result
Brief description or excerpt from the content (max 500 characters)
The URL of the search result
The source identifier (e.g., "web-search", "grok-live-search")
Publication date in YYYY-MM-DD format
The citation URL associated with this result
Index pointing to the citation in the citations array
Metadata about the citation URL The index of this citation
The domain name extracted from the URL
The URL protocol (e.g., "https:", "http:")
Whether the URL uses HTTPS protocol
Error message if URL parsing failed
Array of citation URLs referenced in the search results
Array of citation metadata objects corresponding to each citation URL. See the citation_metadata structure in the Result Object above.
Brief overview of the search findings
The total number of results returned (equal to results.length)
ISO8601 timestamp of when the search was completed (e.g., "2025-06-24T12:00:00.000Z")
The source identifier for this response. Always "grok-live-search" for successful basic mode searches.
Example Response { "query" : "latest AI developments" , "analysis_mode" : "basic" , "results" : [ { "title" : "Major Breakthrough in AI Research" , "snippet" : "Researchers announce significant advances in natural language processing that could transform how AI systems understand context and nuance in human communication." , "url" : "https://example.com/ai-breakthrough" , "source" : "grok-live-search" , "published_date" : "2025-06-24" , "author" : "Dr. Jane Smith" , "citation_url" : "https://example.com/ai-breakthrough" , "citation_index" : 0 , "citation_metadata" : { "index" : 0 , "url" : "https://example.com/ai-breakthrough" , "domain" : "example.com" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/ai-breakthrough" } }, { "title" : "AI Safety Guidelines Updated" , "snippet" : "Leading AI organizations collaborate on new safety standards to ensure responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems." , "url" : "https://news.example.org/ai-safety" , "source" : "grok-live-search" , "published_date" : "2025-06-23" , "citation_url" : "https://news.example.org/ai-safety" , "citation_index" : 1 , "citation_metadata" : { "index" : 1 , "url" : "https://news.example.org/ai-safety" , "domain" : "news.example.org" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/ai-safety" } } ], "citations" : [ "https://example.com/ai-breakthrough" , "https://news.example.org/ai-safety" ], "citation_metadata" : [ { "index" : 0 , "url" : "https://example.com/ai-breakthrough" , "domain" : "example.com" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/ai-breakthrough" }, { "index" : 1 , "url" : "https://news.example.org/ai-safety" , "domain" : "news.example.org" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/ai-safety" } ], "summary" : "Recent developments in AI include major breakthroughs in natural language processing and updated safety guidelines from leading organizations." , "total_results" : 2 , "search_time" : "2025-06-24T12:00:00.000Z" , "source" : "grok-live-search" }
Fallback Response When JSON parsing fails or the response format is unexpected, a fallback response is generated:
{ "query" : "search query" , "analysis_mode" : "basic" , "results" : [ { "title" : "Search results for: search query" , "snippet" : "Raw response content (truncated to 500 characters)..." , "url" : "https://first-citation.com" , "source" : "grok-live-search" , "published_date" : "2025-06-24" , "citation_url" : "https://first-citation.com" , "citation_index" : 0 , "citation_metadata" : { "index" : 0 , "url" : "https://first-citation.com" , "domain" : "first-citation.com" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/" } } ], "citations" : [ "https://first-citation.com" ], "citation_metadata" : [ { "index" : 0 , "url" : "https://first-citation.com" , "domain" : "first-citation.com" , "protocol" : "https:" , "is_secure" : true , "path" : "/" } ], "summary" : "Live search results from Grok" , "total_results" : 1 , "search_time" : "2025-06-24T12:00:00.000Z" , "source" : "grok-live-search" }
Notes
The results array length never exceeds the max_results parameter (default: 10, max: 20)
All dates are in ISO8601 format
Citation metadata is automatically extracted from URLs when available
If URL parsing fails, the citation_metadata.error field will contain the error message
The snippet field is always truncated to a maximum of 500 characters
