You are looking at the HTML representation of the XML format.
HTML is good for debugging, but is unsuitable for application use.
Specify the format parameter to change the output format.
To see the non HTML representation of the XML format, set format=xml.
See the complete documentation, or API help for more information. 
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<api>
  <query>
    <searchinfo totalhits="2" />
    <search>
      <p ns="0" title="Retro Holiday Presents With Real Meaning" snippet="...Shopping  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Shops push expensive products, but the marketing misses the &lt;span class=&#039;searchmatch&#039;&gt;meaning&lt;/span&gt;. Instead, make a list early. Simple stocking fillers make a difference.  &amp;lt;b&#10;" size="1797" wordcount="292" timestamp="2025-08-21T13:03:10Z" />
      <p ns="0" title="Small Kitchen, Big Life: The Real Meaning Of A Functional Kitchen" snippet="" size="5730" wordcount="1049" timestamp="2026-06-14T07:31:12Z" />
    </search>
  </query>
</api>