diff --git a/haystack/preview/components/file_converters/azure.py b/haystack/preview/components/file_converters/azure.py
index be699ea04d..fb1ab76905 100644
--- a/haystack/preview/components/file_converters/azure.py
+++ b/haystack/preview/components/file_converters/azure.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import List, Union, Dict, Any
+from typing import List, Union, Dict, Any, Optional
+import os
 
 from haystack.preview.lazy_imports import LazyImport
 from haystack.preview import component, Document, default_to_dict
@@ -22,22 +23,33 @@ class AzureOCRDocumentConverter:
     to set up your resource.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, endpoint: str, api_key: str, model_id: str = "prebuilt-read"):
+    def __init__(self, endpoint: str, api_key: Optional[str] = None, model_id: str = "prebuilt-read"):
         """
         Create an AzureOCRDocumentConverter component.
 
         :param endpoint: The endpoint of your Azure resource.
-        :param api_key: The key of your Azure resource.
+        :param api_key: The key of your Azure resource. It can be
+        explicitly provided or automatically read from the
+        environment variable AZURE_AI_API_KEY (recommended).
         :param model_id: The model ID of the model you want to use. Please refer to [Azure documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/document-intelligence/choose-model-feature)
             for a list of available models. Default: `"prebuilt-read"`.
         """
         azure_import.check()
 
+        if api_key is None:
+            try:
+                api_key = os.environ["AZURE_AI_API_KEY"]
+            except KeyError as e:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "AzureOCRDocumentConverter expects an Azure Credential key. "
+                    "Set the AZURE_AI_API_KEY environment variable (recommended) or pass it explicitly."
+                ) from e
+
+        self.api_key = api_key
         self.document_analysis_client = DocumentAnalysisClient(
             endpoint=endpoint, credential=AzureKeyCredential(api_key)
         )
         self.endpoint = endpoint
-        self.api_key = api_key
         self.model_id = model_id
 
     @component.output_types(documents=List[Document], azure=List[Dict])
@@ -70,7 +82,7 @@ def to_dict(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """
         Serialize this component to a dictionary.
         """
-        return default_to_dict(self, endpoint=self.endpoint, api_key=self.api_key, model_id=self.model_id)
+        return default_to_dict(self, endpoint=self.endpoint, model_id=self.model_id)
 
     @staticmethod
     def _convert_azure_result_to_document(result: "AnalyzeResult", file_suffix: str) -> Document:
diff --git a/haystack/preview/components/websearch/serper_dev.py b/haystack/preview/components/websearch/serper_dev.py
index 3023603e26..e034092f98 100644
--- a/haystack/preview/components/websearch/serper_dev.py
+++ b/haystack/preview/components/websearch/serper_dev.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import json
+import os
 import logging
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Any
 
@@ -26,13 +27,15 @@ class SerperDevWebSearch:
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        api_key: str,
+        api_key: Optional[str] = None,
         top_k: Optional[int] = 10,
         allowed_domains: Optional[List[str]] = None,
         search_params: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
     ):
         """
-        :param api_key: API key for the SerperDev API.
+        :param api_key: API key for the SerperDev API.  It can be
+        explicitly provided or automatically read from the
+        environment variable SERPERDEV_API_KEY (recommended).
         :param top_k: Number of documents to return.
         :param allowed_domains: List of domains to limit the search to.
         :param search_params: Additional parameters passed to the SerperDev API.
@@ -40,6 +43,13 @@ def __init__(
         See the [Serper Dev website](https://serper.dev/) for more details.
         """
         if api_key is None:
+            try:
+                api_key = os.environ["SERPERDEV_API_KEY"]
+            except KeyError as e:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "SerperDevWebSearch expects an API key. "
+                    "Set the SERPERDEV_API_KEY environment variable (recommended) or pass it explicitly."
+                ) from e
             raise ValueError("API key for SerperDev API must be set.")
         self.api_key = api_key
         self.top_k = top_k
@@ -51,11 +61,7 @@ def to_dict(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         Serialize this component to a dictionary.
         """
         return default_to_dict(
-            self,
-            api_key=self.api_key,
-            top_k=self.top_k,
-            allowed_domains=self.allowed_domains,
-            search_params=self.search_params,
+            self, top_k=self.top_k, allowed_domains=self.allowed_domains, search_params=self.search_params
         )
 
     @component.output_types(documents=List[Document], links=List[str])
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/remove-api-key-from-serialization-2474a1539b86e233.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/remove-api-key-from-serialization-2474a1539b86e233.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1a879816e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/remove-api-key-from-serialization-2474a1539b86e233.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+preview:
+  - |
+    Remove "api_key" from serialization of AzureOCRDocumentConverter and SerperDevWebSearch.
diff --git a/test/preview/components/file_converters/test_azure_ocr_doc_converter.py b/test/preview/components/file_converters/test_azure_ocr_doc_converter.py
index f0707f0912..2369a32f32 100644
--- a/test/preview/components/file_converters/test_azure_ocr_doc_converter.py
+++ b/test/preview/components/file_converters/test_azure_ocr_doc_converter.py
@@ -7,17 +7,19 @@
 
 
 class TestAzureOCRDocumentConverter:
+    @pytest.mark.unit
+    def test_init_fail_wo_api_key(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.delenv("AZURE_AI_API_KEY", raising=False)
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="AzureOCRDocumentConverter expects an Azure Credential key"):
+            AzureOCRDocumentConverter(endpoint="test_endpoint")
+
     @pytest.mark.unit
     def test_to_dict(self):
         component = AzureOCRDocumentConverter(endpoint="test_endpoint", api_key="test_credential_key")
         data = component.to_dict()
         assert data == {
             "type": "AzureOCRDocumentConverter",
-            "init_parameters": {
-                "api_key": "test_credential_key",
-                "endpoint": "test_endpoint",
-                "model_id": "prebuilt-read",
-            },
+            "init_parameters": {"endpoint": "test_endpoint", "model_id": "prebuilt-read"},
         }
 
     @pytest.mark.unit
diff --git a/test/preview/components/websearch/test_serperdev.py b/test/preview/components/websearch/test_serperdev.py
index 87a1738731..e94b7fd726 100644
--- a/test/preview/components/websearch/test_serperdev.py
+++ b/test/preview/components/websearch/test_serperdev.py
@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@ def mock_serper_dev_search_result():
 
 
 class TestSerperDevSearchAPI:
+    @pytest.mark.unit
+    def test_init_fail_wo_api_key(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.delenv("SERPERDEV_API_KEY", raising=False)
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="SerperDevWebSearch expects an API key"):
+            SerperDevWebSearch()
+
     @pytest.mark.unit
     def test_to_dict(self):
         component = SerperDevWebSearch(
@@ -116,12 +122,7 @@ def test_to_dict(self):
         data = component.to_dict()
         assert data == {
             "type": "SerperDevWebSearch",
-            "init_parameters": {
-                "api_key": "test_key",
-                "top_k": 10,
-                "allowed_domains": ["test.com"],
-                "search_params": {"param": "test"},
-            },
+            "init_parameters": {"top_k": 10, "allowed_domains": ["test.com"], "search_params": {"param": "test"}},
         }
 
     @pytest.mark.unit