The search engine You.com, which earlier this year raised $25 million in Series A funding to take on Google, on Thursday announced an open platform that allows application developers to build custom search apps to help consumers find products and services. The apps serve up in the You.com search feed.

The company said it takes on average of 45 minutes to build the app, and touts it as a way to gain independence from Google. Each one adds functions to the core search engine, so users can find summarized information or complete a task. 

The idea is to give users control of their search experience. Now with more than 1 million actively searching users, the number of searches has grown on the platform more than 400% in the last six months.

Search Apps appear for users on any relevant query. Some can be monetized, which do not influence the ranking, the company says. Users can upvote, downvote, pin or entirely block an app in their preferences.

Developers submit an app, and it must be approved by You.com. The app must pass security, speed and privacy approvals before it is ranked in search results.

There are about 15 apps on You.com from external developers, with 130 more underway.

Some include, for example, ListenNotes, a podcast search engine that shows notes and audio transcripts by people, places, or topics from the podcast database online; and Looria, which finds, aggregates, and summarizes thousands of organic product reviews and prices.

In addition, there is Price.com, a savings platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to helps users maximize what they spend when comparison shopping, such as exclusive coupons and competitive cash-back offerings from more than 4,500 merchants and 15,000 stores.

You.com’s ranks the apps for users, but users can also change this ranking or block apps. Some Search Apps generate revenue for the developers and you.com via an affiliate model.