OpenAI has introduced a new functionality for ChatGPT referred to as “Deep Research,” crafted to aid users in maneuvering through complex and vast research endeavors across a variety of fields, including finance, science, policy, and engineering. In contrast to conventional chatbot exchanges, this deep research methodology focuses on providing accurate, well-sourced information by evaluating numerous references over an extended period.
Currently, this capability is exclusively accessible to ChatGPT Pro users, limited to 100 inquiries each month. OpenAI intends to extend it to Plus and Team users shortly, followed by accessibility for Enterprise users at a subsequent stage. Nonetheless, the organization has not disclosed a specific timeline for its launch in the UK, Switzerland, or the European Economic Area.
To utilize this feature, users can select “deep research” in the ChatGPT composer interface, pose their question, and even upload documents or spreadsheets. The response time may vary from 5 to 30 minutes, with alerts sent to users once their research concludes. OpenAI highlights that each reply will include comprehensive citations and documentation to guarantee transparency and support verification.
The deep research instrument operates on OpenAI’s latest o3 model, specifically designed for web browsing and data analysis. This model has undergone training through reinforcement learning to improve its reasoning capabilities and increase search accuracy. In benchmarking evaluations, it surpassed competitors such as Gemini Thinking and Grok-2, attaining a 26.6% accuracy score on the challenging Humanity’s Last Exam dataset.
Despite these advancements, OpenAI recognizes certain limitations. Deep research may at times produce inaccuracies, misinterpret authoritative sources, and face challenges with report formatting. Additionally, as AI-generated content becomes increasingly widespread, users are encouraged to critically evaluate the information rather than taking it at face value.
Looking ahead, OpenAI aims to enhance the deep research capability by incorporating embedded images, data visualizations, and links to subscription-based and exclusive data sources. It remains uncertain whether this tool will effectively rival established search engines such as Google.
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