# Google News MCP Server for AI Agents (`fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server`) Actor

MCP server (Apify Standby mode) exposing Google News search as a live tool call for AI agents -- search any keyword or browse a topic section, in any language, straight from Google's own RSS. Returns headline, publisher, time, link and who else covered the story. Flat fee per call, no start fee.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server.md
- **Developed by:** [Fetch Smith](https://apify.com/fetchsmith) (community)
- **Categories:** MCP servers, Agents, News
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 news search tool calls

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Google News MCP Server for AI Agents

An **MCP (Model Context Protocol) server** that gives your AI agent one tool: live news search over
Google News. Ask a question, get current headlines back in the same turn — no API key, no scraping
setup, no browser, no monthly plan.

This Actor runs in **Apify Standby mode**: it is a web server at a fixed URL that speaks MCP over
streamable HTTP. Point Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, n8n, LangChain or your own agent at it and
`search_news` appears in its tool list.

**You bring the model; we serve the data.** This server performs no inference of its own, so you are
never paying for somebody else's tokens on top of your own.

### The tool

#### `search_news`

| Argument | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | Keyword or phrase, e.g. `"openai funding"`. Google News search operators work: `when:1d`, `site:reuters.com`, `-word`, `OR`, `"exact phrase"`. |
| `topic` | enum | Browse a section instead of searching: `WORLD`, `NATION`, `BUSINESS`, `TECHNOLOGY`, `ENTERTAINMENT`, `SCIENCE`, `SPORTS`, `HEALTH`, `POLITICS`, `ECONOMY`, `REAL_ESTATE`, `JOBS`, `EDUCATION`, `AUTOS`, `MOVIES`, `MUSIC`, `CELEBRITIES`, `ARTS`, `SOCCER`, `BASKETBALL`. |
| `limit` | number | Max articles (default 10, max 100). |
| `language` | string | e.g. `"en-US"`, `"de"`, `"fr"` (default `"en-US"`). |
| `country` | string | Edition, e.g. `"US"`, `"GB"`, `"DE"` (default `"US"`). |

Pass **either** `query` **or** `topic`, not both — Google serves topic sections from a different
feed that ignores keywords, so accepting both would silently drop your query and hand your agent a
plausible-looking wrong answer. The tool refuses instead, and does not charge.

### Sample output

A real response to `search_news({ query: "openai", limit: 2 })`:

```json
[
  {
    "title": "OpenAI kicks off charm offensive to change voters' view of data centers",
    "publisher": "Reuters",
    "publisherDomain": "reuters.com",
    "url": "https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirgFBVV95cUxNT3pvX1Vf...",
    "publishedAt": "2026-11-05T19:34:01.000Z",
    "relatedCoverage": [
      { "title": "OpenAI pledges to halt NDAs in new data center policy proposal after election rebuke", "publisher": "CNBC" },
      { "title": "OpenAI Pledges to Give Locals More Say in Data Center Projects", "publisher": "The New York Times" }
    ]
  }
]
```

`relatedCoverage` is the field most agents end up leaning on: it is **the same story as reported by
other publishers**, which is what you need to tell a real consensus from one outlet's framing.

### Pricing and how we compare

**$0.005 per `search_news` call that returns at least one article** — flat, however many articles it
returns, and **no Actor-start fee**.

**No result, no charge.** A search with zero matches, a call rejected for a bad or missing argument,
and a call where Google News itself did not answer are all free. You are billed for answers, not
attempts.

A 100-article call costs the same $0.005 as a 1-article call, so set `limit` to what you actually
want to read.

Prices read live from each Actor's own `pricingInfos` record (checked 2026-11-05, re-confirmed on
the `latest news mcp` / `news mcp server` / `google news mcp` queries):

| Actor | Users (u30d) | Closest event | Price/call | vs. ours |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server** | — | `search_news` | **$0.005** | — |
| `mrbridge/latest-news-mcp-server` | 118 (35) | `tool-read` | $0.008 (FREE) tiered down to $0.005 (GOLD+), plus a second `tool-enriched` event at $0.015→$0.008 and a $0.00005 start fee | **matches** our price only at its best tier; 60% dearer on a FREE-plan caller, plus a start fee we don't charge |
| `nexgendata/news-mcp-server` | 20 (4) | `tool-call` | $0.02 + $0.00005 start fee | **4x** dearer, plus a start fee we don't charge |
| `quodlibetical_buffalo/google-news-mcp` | 2 (1) | — (no PPE pricing record found) | — | direct title collision, but no measurable traction or disclosed price to compare |

`mrbridge/latest-news-mcp-server` is the clear demand leader in this corner (u30d=35, second only
to ESPN across every MCP listing we've measured) and the one worth beating: our flat $0.005 beats
its entry-tier FREE-plan price by 37% and never requires a start fee or a second enrichment charge
to reach parity. `nexgendata/news-mcp-server` is a flat 4x dearer. Neither offers `relatedCoverage`
(what other publishers ran the same story) or a `topic` browse mode — both are query-only.

### Use cases

- **News-aware agents** — let an assistant check what actually happened today before it answers,
  instead of asserting from stale training data.
- **Monitoring and alerting** — poll `search_news({ query: "<your brand> when:1d" })` on a schedule
  and have the agent decide whether anything is worth escalating.
- **Research and briefings** — pull a topic section, then use `relatedCoverage` to see which stories
  several outlets independently picked up.
- **Market and competitor tracking** — `site:` and `-` operators narrow a query to the publications
  you trust.
- **Sentiment and trend inputs** — headlines plus publishers plus timestamps, structured, for a
  downstream model.

### How to connect

Standby URL:

```
https://fetchsmith--google-news-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp
```

Add it as a streamable-HTTP MCP server, with your Apify token as a bearer credential. In a
`mcpServers` config this looks like:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-news": {
      "url": "https://fetchsmith--google-news-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
    }
  }
}
```

A raw check, if you want to see it answer before wiring an agent up:

```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://fetchsmith--google-news-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_news","arguments":{"query":"openai","limit":2}}}'
```

### FAQ

**Is this legal / is it scraping?**
No scraping and nothing behind a login. It reads Google News' own **public RSS feeds** — the same
endpoints Google publishes for feed readers.

**Why is `url` a news.google.com link instead of the publisher's own URL?**
Because resolving Google's redirect costs an extra HTTP request per article and Google rate-limits
it. An MCP tool call is synchronous — your agent is waiting — so this server keeps the round trip
short. The link works: it opens the article. If you need **resolved publisher URLs and full article
text in bulk**, that is what the batch Actor below is for.

**Do I need an OpenAI/Anthropic key?**
No. This server returns data. Your agent already has whatever model it uses.

**How fresh is the data?**
Live. Every call hits Google News at that moment; nothing is cached on our side.

**Can I search non-English news?**
Yes — set `language` and `country` (e.g. `language: "de"`, `country: "DE"`).

**What if I need thousands of articles, full text, or a CSV?**
Use the batch Actor: [google-news-scraper](https://fetchsmith.com/tools/google-news-scraper) — pay
per article, resolved URLs, full article bodies, date windows, ticker extraction.

### Related guides

- [fetchsmith.com/tools](https://fetchsmith.com/tools)
- [google-news-scraper](https://fetchsmith.com/tools/google-news-scraper) — the batch version: full article text, resolved URLs, CSV export
- [Standby MCP — one URL that's always on, instead of an Actor run you poll](https://fetchsmith.com/blog/standby-mcp-no-actor-run-to-poll)
- [An MCP tool that refuses bad calls instead of guessing — and doesn't charge for the refusal](https://fetchsmith.com/blog/mcp-tool-refuses-instead-of-guessing)
- [Google News RSS: public feeds, no key](https://fetchsmith.com/blog/google-news-rss-public-feeds-no-key)
- [Why the Google News RSS `description` is not a summary](https://fetchsmith.com/blog/google-news-rss-description-is-not-a-summary)
- [Decoding Google News RSS redirect links](https://fetchsmith.com/blog/decode-google-news-rss-redirect-links)

# Actor input Schema

## Actor input object example

```json
{}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fetchsmith/google-news-mcp-server"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/FJV2ULlz2QxI6u541/builds/UfNKgQWcbS3L3z9yE/openapi.json