For AI agents: docs.octen.ai/capabilities/broad-search.md
Some questions have more than one angle. Comparisons, research tasks, and surveys need sources spread across many subtopics, and a single query only reaches a few of them. Broad Search closes that gap: it expands your query into several sub-queries from different angles and searches them all at the same time. For the full list of parameters, see the [Broad Search API reference](/api-reference/broad-search). ## Why Broad Search * **Wider coverage.** Several sub-queries from one query, each covering a different part of the topic. * **No query rewriting.** Pass the original query as is, and Octen generates the sub-queries from it. * **Still fast.** Sub-queries run concurrently, so broader coverage does not mean a longer wait. * **Made for LLMs and agents.** Results arrive grouped by sub-query, ready for a model to ground a complete answer. For a single, precise lookup, use [Web Search](/capabilities/web-search) instead. ## How It Works 1. Send one query. Octen decomposes it into multiple sub-queries. 2. Each sub-query runs as a Web Search. 3. The response returns the generated sub-queries, with ranked search results grouped under each. ## Scenarios ### Compare options Comparisons across many sources, such as pricing, products, or vendors. ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST https://api.octen.ai/broad-search \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \ -d '{ "query": "compare cloud GPU pricing across major providers", "max_queries": 5 }' ``` ### Research a topic For surveys and deeper research, raise `max_queries` so more angles are covered. ```json theme={null} { "query": "state of solid-state battery technology in 2026", "max_queries": 12 } ``` ### Get the original text When you need the full text of each result, turn on full content through `search_options`. ```json theme={null} { "query": "compare cloud GPU pricing across major providers", "max_queries": 8, "search_options": { "full_content": { "enable": true, "max_tokens": 2048 } } } ``` ### Filter every sub-query Apply topic, domain, or time filters to all sub-queries at once. `search_options` takes the same parameters as Web Search. ```json theme={null} { "query": "latest central bank interest rate decisions globally", "max_queries": 8, "search_options": { "topic": "news", "include_domains": ["reuters.com", "bloomberg.com"], "time_range": "week" } } ``` ## Next Steps