Exa 3.0

Exa 3.0 is an upgrade to Exa's web search API for AI agents: a larger embedding model, Dynamic Highlights made generally available, a bigger index, and a new cheaper Exa Lite search type at $4 per 1,000 requests.

Why it matters

For developers building AI assistants and agents that need live web results. Exa 3.0 aims to return better pages with fewer tokens, and Lite gives cost-sensitive apps a cheaper option on the same index.

What's new

• Exa says it trained a larger embedding model with more compute and data than any of its previous models; the company reports Exa 3.0 ranks first on every benchmark it tested.unverified
• Dynamic Highlights is now generally available at no extra charge; Exa says it uses 95% fewer tokens than full page text by choosing tokens across all results.
• New Exa Lite search type at $4 per 1,000 requests runs on the same index as Exa Auto ($7 per 1,000), with less compute per query.
• The index adds what Exa describes as 1.27B ecommerce listings, 211M+ local businesses with hours and ratings, real-time news, sports, weather and market data, plus flights, events, transit and podcasts.

Taken from the project's own release notes. Claims about speed or accuracy are the maker's unless stated otherwise.

Worth knowing: Benchmark rankings are Exa's own claims and weren't independently checked.

Quick facts

Links

• Official site: https://exa.ai/blog/exa-3
• Release notes: https://exa.ai/blog/exa-3
• Docs: https://exa.ai/docs

Related ranking

See how established tools compare in Best Research & Cited Answers. New releases aren't scored until we review them against the rubric.

What we couldn't verify

• highlights[0] (benchmark claims are Exa's own)

Checked 2026-10-20 from the release notes's own pages. Prices and star counts change, so confirm on the official site. Listing here is not a ranking or an endorsement.