{"id":"search-augmented-llm","slug":"search-augmented-llm","name":"Search-augmented generation","shortName":"Search-augmented generation","problemStatement":"Combine search + LLM for fresher answers.","whenNotTopPick":"Want fully managed cite-and-answer — Perplexity. Need full page text — Firecrawl after search.","categoryIds":["cat-search-scrape"],"depotPickProviderId":"tavily","depotPickRationale":"dx agent integrations + capability.","runnersUpIds":["exa","perplexity","parallel","firecrawl","you-com"],"weights":{"capabilityFit":0.28,"pricePerformance":0.16,"latencyReliability":0.14,"developerDx":0.18,"privacyPosture":0.08,"lockInRisk":0.08,"maturity":0.08},"methodologyNotes":"dx agent integrations + capability.","tags":["search"],"depth":{"whenNotToUse":{"text":"Want fully managed cite-and-answer — Perplexity. Need full page text — Firecrawl after search.","source":"editorial `whenNotTopPick` (data/jtbds.json)"},"whenNotToUseReason":null,"runnerUp":{"providerId":"exa","name":"Exa","overallForJob":8.34,"pickOverallForJob":8.32,"beatsPickOn":["capabilityFit","maturity"],"source":"first resolvable entry of the job's editorially ranked `runnersUpIds`; scores are stored job-weighted scores"},"runnerUpReason":null,"lockIn":{"pickLockInRisk":4.5,"runnerUpLockInRisk":4.5,"scale":"0–10 stored curated estimate; higher = more lock-in (worse)","pickExitSignals":[],"runnerUpExitSignals":[],"pickNotes":[],"selfHostFallback":[],"migration":null,"migrationReason":"no_stored_migration_data","derivedFrom":"stored lockInRisk scores, provider tags (oss, self-host, openai-compat, open-models), free rows that list this job, and verbatim provider notes. No migration guide was invented."}},"freshness":{"pick":{"score":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"lastReviewed":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"sourceCheck":{"checkedAt":"2026-10-27","sourceUrls":1,"sourcesReachable":1,"pricingRows":9,"pricingRowsReconfirmed":1,"note":"A source re-check confirms the page is reachable and, for pricing rows, that the stored amount and SKU name appear on it. It does not re-derive or change the score.","reason":null}}},"depotPick":{"id":"tavily","slug":"tavily","name":"Tavily","tagline":"Depot co-default for agent web search with Exa. Pick Tavily for classic SERP-like agent search.","overall":8.32},"runnersUp":[{"id":"exa","slug":"exa","name":"Exa","tagline":"Depot pick for research-style agent search. Pair with Firecrawl when you need full page content.","overall":8.34},{"id":"perplexity","slug":"perplexity","name":"Perplexity","tagline":"Use when you want grounded answers without building search+cite yourself. For full agent stacks, prefer…","overall":7.66},{"id":"parallel","slug":"parallel","name":"Parallel","tagline":"Strong Exa peer for agent search; wins when you need Task/deep-research in one bill. Exa remains Depot…","overall":8.14},{"id":"firecrawl","slug":"firecrawl","name":"Firecrawl","tagline":"Depot pick for turning the web into LLM context. Browserbase when you need to *act*, Firecrawl when you need…","overall":8.31},{"id":"you-com","slug":"you-com","name":"You.com API","tagline":"Agent search peer with Answer/Research SKUs. Exa remains depot agent-search pick; You.com strong when ZDR +…","overall":8.09}]}