Exa API returns 402 errors

Exa’s own documentation points to a billing or authentication failure behind the 402 errors that blocked the news-prefetch step. The failed requests were ordinary search queries, but instead of returning links or article text they returned HTTP 402, the web status code for “Payment Required.” Exa says that code is used in its x402 and MPP payment flows for requests that arrive without an API key or payment credential. Exa’s billing pages also say the platform uses prepaid credits and pay-as-you-go charging for API usage. ### Why does a 402 matter more than a normal search miss? HTTP 402 is not the same as a bad query or a no-results response. Exa’s x402 guide says the company uses 402 as part of a payment challenge, and its MPP guide says the same status is returned when a client sends a request without an API key or payment credential. That means the request reached the service but did not satisfy the service’s payment or auth requirements. (exa.ai) The practical effect is simple: a system expecting article URLs gets no URLs. In this case, the failed prefetch left no usable source material to cache, so any downstream workflow that required sourced articles would stop there rather than fabricate a briefing. ### Does Exa price search in a way that could trigger this? Exa’s pricing page says Search costs $7 per 1,000 requests, while the company’s admin pricing page says new accounts receive free credits and then move on a pay-as-you-go basis. (exa.ai) Its billing page says Exa uses a credit system, with remaining balance visible in the dashboard and charges applied based on API usage. Those pages do not describe the specific account that generated the failed requests, but they do establish that search access is metered and tied to credits or payment setup. The documentation also distinguishes between normal API-key billing and alternate payment rails. Exa says the standard flow uses an `Authorization: Bearer` header or API key, while x402 and MPP allow per-request payment without a conventional account setup. ### Could the error mean the client was missing an API key? Exa’s documentation says yes, that is one documented cause. The MPP guide says requests to `/search` or `/contents` without an API key or payment credential return 402 with a payment challenge. (exa.ai) A separate Exa page on the AgentKit free trial says the 402 flow is bypassed if a request includes an `x-api-key` or `Authorization: Bearer` header, and that the normal API-key billing flow takes priority. (exa.ai) That does not prove the failed client omitted its credentials. A depleted credit balance, a billing configuration problem, or a tool integration issue could also be consistent with a payment-required response, based on Exa’s pricing and billing model. Exa’s public docs reviewed here do not provide a single error page that maps 402 to one exclusive cause. ### What does this say about the failed news workflow itself? Three different news-oriented queries failed with the same status, which points away from a topic-specific problem and toward a shared access layer such as billing, credentials or payment handling. (exa.ai) The queries were not obscure edge cases; they were broad searches that would ordinarily be expected to return links if the search endpoint were available. Exa markets its Search API as a source of real-time web data for AI agents, and its integrations page says Exa can be used inside ChatGPT and Codex for live web search. That makes the 402 notable because it interrupted the retrieval layer before any editorial filtering or summarization could begin. ### What would fix it on the next request? Exa’s documentation names the next checks directly: confirm that the request is being sent with a valid API key or bearer token, or complete the service’s supported payment flow if the client is using x402 or MPP instead. Exa’s billing page says remaining credits can be checked in the dashboard, and its pricing pages list the request-based charges that apply once free credits are exhausted. (exa.ai) The next concrete step is on Exa’s side of the integration path: the client can retry the same search only after verifying credentials, credit balance or payment setup in Exa’s billing and pricing documentation. (exa.ai)