• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechPointCloud

Google Plans To Discontinue Yet Another Product

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 21, 2017, 3:28 PM ET

This spring, Google plans to discontinue Google Site Search, a product it has sold to web publishers that wanted to apply the industry’s leading search technology to their own sites.

Google (GOOGL) disclosed its plans to customers and partners via email on Tuesday, but the news has not been announced publicly. The product has been around since 2008.

Existing customers can keep using GSS for the life of their current license, but Google will stop selling new licenses and renewals as of April 1, according the email viewed by Fortune. Once a customer’s allocation of search queries is exhausted, the account will “automatically convert” to the company’s Custom Search Engine, or CSE for short.

A Google spokesman noted via email that the company is “winding down the Google Site Search product over the next year, but will provide customer and technical support through the duration of license agreements.”

He added that for GSS users whose contracts expire between April 1 and June 30, 2017, Google will provide a free three-month extension to their service with an additional queries.

CSE is a free, advertising-supported version of Google’s search technology, that provides similar features and functions to GSS, according to the email.

Google recommended that GSS customers study the differences between the two products and that those who do not want to move to CSE can remove their existing search engine.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Google charged GSS customers based on the number of searches made annually. A small blog, for example, would get 20,000 searches per year for $100. A larger company might opt for 500,000 queries for $2,000 annually. Companies that wanted higher volumes of searches had to contact Google for pricing.

The news of GSS’s discontinuation comes just over a year after Google announced similar plans to phase out Google Search Appliance, which bundled Google search into a piece of hardware that ran in companies’ own data centers.

For more on Google, watch:

“It appears that Google is decoupling its technology that is ad-based from its enterprise technology which is G Suite based,” said one GSS customer who requested anonymity because he did not want to irk Google.

G Suite, is a popular set of desktop word processing, spreadsheet, and email applications that competes with Microsoft (MSFT) Office.

While G Suite’s predecessor, Google Apps was once a free product, users now must pay for G Suite.

 

February 21, 2017 (4:00 p.m.) This story was updated to add a comment from Google.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

anger
AIProductivity
AI angst mutates into ‘FOBO’ as Fear of Becoming Obsolete takes over American workforces
By Nick LichtenbergApril 5, 2026
3 hours ago
marketing
CommentaryMarketing
The corporate ‘storyteller’ is marketing’s newest messiah—and just as hollow as every buzzword before it
By Bruce StocklerApril 5, 2026
3 hours ago
gecko
CommentaryInsurance
The billion-dollar bet that turned insurance into entertainment
By Stuart N. BrotmanApril 5, 2026
5 hours ago
cameras mounted on a wall
CybersecuritySurveillance
Your neighbor just got a home security system, but should you be worried? ‘It’s inherently a little creepy’ says surveillance expert
By Catherina GioinoApril 5, 2026
5 hours ago
Logan Brown, the founder of AI-powered law firm Soxton
SuccessCareers
The founder of a $2.5 million AI-powered legal business started work at her DA’s office at just 12 years old
By Emma BurleighApril 5, 2026
7 hours ago
lexi
CommentaryVenture Capital
I’m a VC who bets on AI. What keeps me up at night isn’t the idea of these companies failing—quite the opposite
By Lexi NovitskeApril 5, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

The World Cup is supposed to be an economic windfall. But 'you're seeing a number of headwinds' now
North America
The World Cup is supposed to be an economic windfall. But 'you're seeing a number of headwinds' now
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
College grads in ‘AI-proof’ careers like psychology and education are seeing negative returns on their degrees
Personal Finance
College grads in ‘AI-proof’ careers like psychology and education are seeing negative returns on their degrees
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
Success
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
3 days ago
'It’s shocking how poorly prepared the administration is': DOGE gutted major energy personnel who warn the U.S. has lost key insights amid Iran war
Energy
'It’s shocking how poorly prepared the administration is': DOGE gutted major energy personnel who warn the U.S. has lost key insights amid Iran war
By Fortune EditorsApril 5, 2026
7 hours ago
A Yale economist says AGI won't automate most jobs—because they're not worth the trouble
AI
A Yale economist says AGI won't automate most jobs—because they're not worth the trouble
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 3, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.