Bedrock Web Search adds domain filters and location controls for grounded answers

Amazon Bedrock users can now narrow the websites returned by Web Search and add location context to a search. AWS announced the controls on October 23, saying both are configured on the `web_search` tool in an existing OpenAI Responses API request. The change affects how an application obtains material to ground an answer, rather than adding a separate search interface for end users. [The AWS release describes the new controls](https://aws.amazon.com/about‑aws/whats‑new/2026/10/bedrock‑web‑search‑domain‑user‑location/). For a developer building an assistant, the two settings address different questions. A domain list helps define which sites should supply information. Location helps make a request relevant to a particular place. Their usefulness depends on the question the application is answering and the information those sources contain.

With domain filtering, the `filters` parameter can contain up to 100 `allowed_domains` to restrict results to chosen sites, or up to 100 `blocked_domains` to exclude unwanted sites. [AWS lists those two options](https://aws.amazon.com/about‑aws/whats‑new/2026/10/bedrock‑web‑search‑domain‑user‑location/) as ways to focus search on trusted sources or keep particular domains out. The announcement does not establish that an application should combine both modes, so implementation should follow the tool documentation for the selected configuration. A small allowlist can make the source‑selection decision explicit when an assistant is meant to answer from named organizations or publications. An exclusion list serves a different purpose: it removes specified sources without defining the complete set of acceptable ones. Neither choice establishes that an individual page is accurate, complete or current. The answer still needs to reflect what the returned material actually supports.

The [same release](https://aws.amazon.com/about‑aws/whats‑new/2026/10/bedrock‑web‑search‑domain‑user‑location/) says developers may supply location parameters to make results relevant to a geography, including questions about regional availability or local services. The setting is optional. A request about a global technical concept may have little reason to use it; a request about a service available in a particular place may depend on it. Keep the location used to interpret the question separate from decisions about infrastructure and data handling. AWS describes this feature as a relevance control. That statement does not establish where all data is processed or create a data‑residency guarantee for an application.

Domain filtering and user location are available wherever Bedrock Web Search is supported: US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon) and AWS GovCloud (US‑West), according to [AWS’s October 23 announcement](https://aws.amazon.com/about‑aws/whats‑new/2026/10/bedrock‑web‑search‑domain‑user‑location/). The list is specific to this tool; the presence of another Bedrock capability in a Region does not establish that Web Search is available there too. For an existing integration, check the actual Region and request path before treating a missing result as a model‑quality problem. The announcement links to the Web Search user guide and Bedrock pricing, but supplies no new unit price or cost‑saving estimate. The controls describe source selection and geographic relevance, not a measured change in the cost of completing a task.

A useful deployment review can ask whether the configured domain mode matches the application’s purpose, whether location is needed for the user’s question and whether the returned pages support the answer. These are checks suggested by the design of the controls, rather than results of testing by OpenTools. [AWS’s release](https://aws.amazon.com/about‑aws/whats‑new/2026/10/bedrock‑web‑search‑domain‑user‑location/) establishes availability and configuration scope; it does not report an independent accuracy comparison. The practical change is that source choice no longer has to be left entirely to a broad web search. Developers can make that choice explicit, then evaluate the answer against the resulting evidence. That evaluation remains necessary even when the sites on a list are familiar. *Photo: Tedder / [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazon_AWS_us‑west‑2_morrow_east_AZ_01.jpg), [CC BY‑SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‑sa/4.0/). AWS Oregon data‑center site, August 2023; context photograph, not evidence of where a customer request is processed. Source‑hosted image with responsive display cropping; image adaptations retain the same license.*