• 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
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
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
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

joaquin
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Johnson & Johnson CEO: America’s innovation advantage starts with health 
By Joaquin DuatoMay 9, 2026
1 minute ago
Qualcomm’s CEO is working with ‘pretty much all’ major AI players on top-secret devices—and powering OpenAI’s first push into hardware
AIQualcomm
Qualcomm’s CEO is working with ‘pretty much all’ major AI players on top-secret devices—and powering OpenAI’s first push into hardware
By Eva RoytburgMay 9, 2026
1 hour ago
reed
CommentaryRetirement
Tim Cook and Reed Hastings just showed every CEO how to leave gracefully
By Paul HardartMay 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Companies are abandoning ‘peanut butter’ raises as pay-for-performance takes over the workplace in the AI era
Future of WorkTech
Companies are abandoning ‘peanut butter’ raises as pay-for-performance takes over the workplace in the AI era
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 9, 2026
4 hours ago
Goldman Sachs’ tech boss says tracking individual AI usage isn’t useful. He just watches how fast his 12,000 engineers move from idea to production
AIBanks
Goldman Sachs’ tech boss says tracking individual AI usage isn’t useful. He just watches how fast his 12,000 engineers move from idea to production
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 8, 2026
17 hours ago
hacking
CybersecurityHacking
Student hackers get revenge on final exams as ‘ShinyHunters’ takes down nearly 9,000 schools study software
By Heather Hollingsworth and The Associated PressMay 8, 2026
20 hours ago

Most Popular

California farmers must destroy 420,000 peach trees after Del Monte closes its canneries and cancels more than $550 million in long-term contracts
North America
California farmers must destroy 420,000 peach trees after Del Monte closes its canneries and cancels more than $550 million in long-term contracts
By Sasha RogelbergMay 7, 2026
2 days ago
'Blue dot fever' plagues musicians like Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, and Zayn as a growing list of artists cancel tours due to lagging ticket sales
Arts & Entertainment
'Blue dot fever' plagues musicians like Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, and Zayn as a growing list of artists cancel tours due to lagging ticket sales
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewMay 7, 2026
2 days ago
A Michigan farm town voted down plans for a giant OpenAI-Oracle data center. Weeks later, construction began
Magazine
A Michigan farm town voted down plans for a giant OpenAI-Oracle data center. Weeks later, construction began
By Sharon GoldmanMay 6, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 8, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 8, 2026
23 hours ago
U.S. Treasury will have to borrow $2 trillion this year just to continue functioning—more than $166 billion every month
Economy
U.S. Treasury will have to borrow $2 trillion this year just to continue functioning—more than $166 billion every month
By Eleanor PringleMay 7, 2026
2 days ago
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky warns two types of people won’t survive the AI era: ‘pure people managers’ and workers who resist change
Success
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky warns two types of people won’t survive the AI era: ‘pure people managers’ and workers who resist change
By Emma BurleighMay 7, 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.