Reponses API not returning online PDF's from web search

Hi, If I search for a high school by name on chatgpt.com, it returns a link to a pdf that is very useful. I’m guessing it reads the data from the pdf in reporting the answer. See below.


Link to the assoicated file here.

When I try the same search via the responses API, even when directing it to look at that website, I don’t get the same results. Here is the API call:

response_web = client.responses.create(
    model="gpt-4o",  # or another supported model
    input="what is the average GPA at acalanes high school, along with SAT scores and AP classes? As in, what specific AP classes are offered? Can you look here? https://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/cms/lib/CA01001364/Centricity/Domain/56/School%20Profile%2024-25.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com",
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "web_search"
        }
    ]
)

And here are the results:

[
  {
    "id": "ws_6807fb17ae0c8190b0e3cc4933849b6e0aeba5b5c66cb0d2",
    "status": "completed",
    "type": "web_search_call"
  },
  {
    "id": "msg_6807fb1bc8388190b8491072c9d911e10aeba5b5c66cb0d2",
    "content": [
      {
        "annotations": [
          {
            "end_index": 259,
            "start_index": 149,
            "title": "Acalanes High School, Lafayette CA Rankings & Reviews - Homes.com",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://www.homes.com/school/lafayette-ca/acalanes-high-school/0yjr8876cesy4/?utm_source=openai"
          },
          {
            "end_index": 445,
            "start_index": 342,
            "title": "Acalanes High School Test Scores and Academics - Niche",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai"
          },
          {
            "end_index": 637,
            "start_index": 534,
            "title": "Acalanes High School Test Scores and Academics - Niche",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai"
          },
          {
            "end_index": 972,
            "start_index": 799,
            "title": "Acalanes becomes first Contra Costa school district to offer AP African American Studies - Local News Matters",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://localnewsmatters.org/2024/03/12/acalanes-becomes-first-contra-costa-school-district-to-offer-ap-african-american-studies/?utm_source=openai"
          },
          {
            "end_index": 1167,
            "start_index": 1064,
            "title": "Acalanes High School Test Scores and Academics - Niche",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai"
          },
          {
            "end_index": 1536,
            "start_index": 1446,
            "title": "Acalanes High School",
            "type": "url_citation",
            "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acalanes_High_School?utm_source=openai"
          }
        ],
        "text": "Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California, is recognized for its strong academic performance. The average GPA of students is approximately 3.65. ([homes.com](https://www.homes.com/school/lafayette-ca/acalanes-high-school/0yjr8876cesy4/?utm_source=openai)) The average SAT score is 1350, with a breakdown of 680 in Math and 670 in Verbal. ([niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai)) The school offers 12 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, with an AP exam pass rate of 87%. ([niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai))\n\nIn the 2024-25 school year, Acalanes High School introduced AP African American Studies, becoming the first school in Contra Costa County to offer this course. ([localnewsmatters.org](https://localnewsmatters.org/2024/03/12/acalanes-becomes-first-contra-costa-school-district-to-offer-ap-african-american-studies/?utm_source=openai)) Other AP courses available include AP Math and AP Science, both with very high enrollment. ([niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/acalanes-high-school-lafayette-ca/academics/?utm_source=openai)) Additionally, the school offers a variety of electives such as sports medicine, digital design, auto mechanics, studio arts (from beginning to AP), video production, journalism, drama, photography, Mandarin (Chinese), Spanish, French, chorus, band (four groups), and orchestra. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acalanes_High_School?utm_source=openai))\n\nFor the most current and detailed information on AP course offerings, it's recommended to visit the Acalanes High School website or contact the school's administration directly. ",
        "type": "output_text"
      }
    ],
    "role": "assistant",
    "status": "completed",
    "type": "message"
  }
]

Now let me be clear - I don’t expect it to return the results from the PDF - that would require further programming. My question is, why can’t it return the link to the PDF in the first place? Am I missing something?

I’m also struggling with similar issues, using the “web_search” tool with responses API.
The API web search, fails to even go to the mentioned url in the prompt, and just gets the results from some other sources. Whereas the ChatGPT web search works like a charm. So was expecting the same behaviour from the API tool also.

Couldn’t find much difference online, so used ChatGPT to summarize the difference between the ChatGPT web search and API web_search tool. Here are the differences:

ChatGPT with web browsing (like in ChatGPT Plus) uses a full browser-based system. It can:

  • Click links, follow redirects, and read full webpages
  • Extract structured data (like tables or registry results)
  • Handle dynamic content (even JavaScript-heavy pages)
  • Synthesize info from multiple sources into a clean answer

OpenAI’s API web-search tool is simpler and lighter:

  • Only returns search snippets (like from Google/Bing)
  • Doesn’t click or scrape web pages
  • Can miss structured or hidden content (e.g., NPI registry data)
  • Works best for basic facts or headlines in search results

Also someone in the forum mentioned that ChatGPT is the polished user facing product, so it has a lot of other tools and functions, which makes the web search better.

I also thought of using an external tool or function like SERP API for web search, but then that also will give me the search snippets, and I then I need to filter the results too.