In short. DeepSeek's Search function retrieves public internet information to generate answers, while its product terms describe third-party links in outputs.

Definition: As of 17 October 2026, DeepSeek web search is the assistant's user-enabled Search function, which retrieves public internet information and uses the retrieved information to generate an answer. DeepSeek documents that its outputs may include links to third-party websites.

Key facts

DeepSeek's app announcement lists web search and Deep-Think mode among the app's features.
The Chinese User Agreement describes retrieval of public internet information according to the user's input and instructions.
The English Terms of Use state that outputs may contain third-party website links for informational purposes.
The separate Search & Fetch guide documents a Search API that returns structured results and a Fetch API that retrieves a page as Markdown.

How does Search mode work?

DeepSeek's Chinese User Agreement explains the sequence in its service description: when web search is enabled, the product first retrieves public information from the internet, then generates content based on that information. The input and instructions guide the retrieval step.

The app announcement names both web search and Deep-Think mode. The English Terms of Use call the user-enabled function “Search.”

What does DeepSeek document about sources in answers?

The English Terms of Use describe third-party website links within outputs. This gives a reader a route from the assistant's response to an external page. The reviewed product documentation does not specify an exact citation-marker format or source-panel layout.

For a website review, the destination of a displayed link is the concrete page to examine. The answer's wording and the linked page can then be compared directly. DeepSeek's terms require users who publish or disseminate outputs to verify their authenticity and accuracy, which makes checking the underlying page relevant before reusing an answer.

What does the separate Search API expose?

An application programming interface, or API, lets software request a service directly. DeepSeek's Search & Fetch guide documents this search endpoint:

POST https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search

The guide describes Search as finding web pages for a query and returning structured results, powered by DeepSeek's in-house search engine. Fetch retrieves a single page and returns its content as Markdown, a plain-text formatting syntax.

These descriptions concern the developer APIs. The consumer assistant's documented link behavior comes from the product terms. Keeping the two contexts explicit helps a website reviewer identify whether a source record comes from an API integration or a link displayed in an assistant response.

FAQ

How do I identify the documented search function?

DeepSeek's English Terms of Use call the user-enabled function “Search.” The Chinese agreement describes its retrieval-then-generation workflow.

What should I check before reusing an answer?

Open any third-party link supplied with the answer and compare the page with the statement you plan to reuse. The same terms require verification of output authenticity and accuracy before publication or dissemination.

Sources

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