Web Search

For current news, weather, or web sources, ask the assistant to “Search for…”. It can use available search tools and answer from the results. Chat, search, and backend work are separate capabilities; search itself does not require a Backend Agent.

Default Search and Custom Services

The frontend web_search tool returns verifiable source links, does not create backend Agent work, and does not invoke another text model. Without explicit configuration it uses a small, key-free 360 search adapter that parses one public search results page and is reachable in mainland China. This basic fallback is experimental: it may be blocked, return weak results, or break with upstream changes. Configure your own provider for reliable search.

After enabling Model Studio's Web Search MCP service, select its built-in preset explicitly; it then reuses DASHSCOPE_API_KEY:

QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDER=bailian

The same provider-neutral adapter can connect to another compatible MCP search service. Custom endpoints must provide their own credentials explicitly:

QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDER=mcp
QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_MCP_URL=https://example.com/mcp
QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_MCP_TOKEN=your-token
QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_MCP_TOOL=web_search

Set QWEN_AUDIO_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDER=none to disable frontend web search.

Results and Citations

WebUI and TUI show source links below the answer. Sources support the answer but do not guarantee accuracy or freshness; check the original page for important information. Opening a search result may also use fetch_url.

Focused research and Q&A can combine search, page reading, and knowledge retrieval; multiple tool calls alone do not require backend work. Operations on the user's environment, ongoing execution, and deliverable creation are routed according to the backend's declared capabilities.

To change search services, prefer configuring a Web Search Provider so the model keeps a single web_search entry point. Avoid enabling the same search capability again through general MCP configuration; the Gateway does not guess overlaps or merge tools based on names or descriptions.

For tools beyond search, see frontend MCP configuration. After changing settings, restart the Gateway for your run mode.