New Web IQ MCP server does not have a valid URL

Hello Barry Briggs,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

You've spotted a real documentation bug! The URL https://placeholder.mcp.microsoft.com/web-search listed for the Web IQ (Web Search) MCP server on the MCP Center catalog is clearly a template placeholder that was never replaced with the actual endpoint before the listing went live. This is a content publishing oversight on Microsoft's side.

Here is what you can do right now:

Step 1: Report it as a Documentation Bug

The fastest way to get this fixed officially is to report it directly to the Microsoft team. Go to the MCP Center page at https://mcp.azure.com/?vendors.microsoft=true, scroll to the Web Search MCP server entry, and click the "Feedback" or "Report an issue" link if available. Alternatively, you can raise a docs bug via the GitHub repository for Microsoft Docs at https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs and open a new issue describing the broken placeholder URL.

Step 2: Use the Correct Approach to Connect Web Search via Azure AI Foundry

Instead of using the placeholder URL directly, the recommended way to add Web Search capability to your agent is through Azure AI Foundry. Here's how:

• Go to https://ai.azure.com and open your project
• Select your agent and go to the Tools section
• Click Add Tool and browse the tool catalog
• Filter by Provider > Microsoft and look for "Grounding with Bing Search" or "Web Search"
• Connect it directly through the Foundry UI — it will configure the correct endpoint automatically without you needing to manually enter a URL

Step 3: Alternatively, Use a Foundry Toolbox

Foundry Toolboxes let you bundle multiple tools — including Web Search — into a single MCP-compatible endpoint. You can then point your agent to that Toolbox endpoint using standard MCP tool configuration with server_url and server_label, without needing to manually track individual server URLs.

Step 4: Keep an Eye on the MCP Center for Updates

Microsoft is actively updating the MCP Center catalog. The placeholder URL will likely be corrected soon. Check back at https://mcp.azure.com/?vendors.microsoft=true after a few days to see if the correct URL has been published.

In short — this is a known documentation gap, not something broken on your end. The workaround is to connect Web Search through Azure AI Foundry's tool catalog rather than via the direct URL for now.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.