Google's documentation says existing Custom Search JSON API customers need to move to an alternative by January 1, 2027:

https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview

I'm evaluating a replacement specifically for searchType=image in a CMS image picker. The workflow is: search for existing web photos, show thumbnails and source links, then let an editor select an image and import it after checking publication rights. Generated images and stock-only libraries don't cover the same need, especially for recent news.

So far I've looked into Brave Image Search, OpenAI's Responses API image search, and Wikimedia Commons/Openverse. I haven't validated Brave or OpenAI in a real integration yet. Commons/Openverse look useful for some openly licensed material, but wouldn't replace general news image search. I also haven't found evidence that Vertex AI Search is a drop-in replacement for this use case.

Has anyone here actually migrated the image-search part, or tested a replacement seriously?…