In short. Brave Leo retrieves information through the Brave Search API and adds the results to the prompt sent to its language model.

Definition: Brave Leo web search is the integration through which Leo, Brave Browser's AI assistant, uses Brave Search results to inform its answers. As of 17 October 2026, Brave documents a workflow that combines retrieved results with the user's prompt before sending them to a language model, the system that generates the response.

Key facts

Brave's current-information help article identifies the Brave Search API as the service Leo uses to retrieve relevant information.
Brave's Leo development update describes citations with links to the sources used to inform responses.
The Leo use guide documents access through the browser and requires an initial opt-in before Leo works or communicates data.

How does the search integration work?

Brave's help explanation describes retrieval followed by response generation. Leo collects relevant information through the Brave Search API, adds the results to the user's prompt, and sends them together to its language model. Those results supply current information for the model to consider when composing an answer.

The integration announcement gives concerts and sporting events as examples of questions that benefit from current web information. It also describes using current financial-market information. These examples explain the role of search: supplementing information available from the model's initial training with material retrieved for the conversation.

What sources does Leo show?

Brave's development update describes citations that link to sources used to inform responses. For a website owner reviewing an answer, those links identify the source pages that Leo presents alongside its response.

The earlier search integration announcement describes a separate element: answers incorporating Brave Search information carry a label and a link to a search results page. That destination provides further results for the query. A source-page link and a search-results link therefore provide different routes for examining the material behind an answer.

Where is the browser assistant available?

The Leo use guide describes Leo as built directly into the browser, with no extra app or extension required. The guide gives this internal browser address for the full-page chat workspace:

brave://leo-ai

It also documents the “Ask Leo” option in the address bar and an “Expand” control for moving a sidebar conversation into the full-page view. These are entry points to the browser assistant whose answers can incorporate retrieved search results. The guide places model selection in a menu at the top of the chat, allowing a conversation to continue with another available model.

FAQ

How can I open Leo directly?

Enter brave://leo-ai in Brave's address bar. The Leo use guide identifies this address as direct access to the full-page chat workspace.

How can I check an answer's sources?

Follow the source links described in Brave's development update. Open the linked pages and compare their information with the answer's claims.

Can search-backed answers contain errors?

Yes. Brave's Leo product FAQ says replies can contain factual inaccuracies and recommends checking their accuracy before relying on them.

Sources

Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer