OpenAI's New "Deep Research" AI: Your Assistant for Complex Online Research

OpenAI is expanding its suite of AI-powered tools with the launch of "Deep Research," a new service designed to act as a personal research assistant. Available to select paying customers through the ChatGPT chatbot, Deep Research promises to automate time-consuming online research tasks, providing in-depth reports on a wide range of topics, from complex scientific questions to everyday inquiries like car recommendations.

From Booking Flights to In-Depth Research: OpenAI's Expanding AI Agent Arsenal

Deep Research is the second AI agent to be released by OpenAI this year, following the introduction of "Operator," which helps users with tasks like booking flights, planning grocery orders, and making purchases. Both services are initially available exclusively to subscribers of OpenAI's premium ChatGPT Pro option, which costs $200 per month.

This focus on AI agents reflects a broader industry trend. Companies like Microsoft and Anthropic, along with numerous startups, are also developing agent software, betting that these tools will significantly enhance productivity by automating multi-step tasks with minimal human supervision.

Deep Research: Like Having a Dedicated Research Analyst at Your Fingertips

OpenAI describes Deep Research as comparable to a human research analyst, capable of sifting through vast amounts of online information – including text, images, and PDFs – as well as user-uploaded files, to compile comprehensive reports. The company claims that tasks that might take a person hours to complete can be accomplished by Deep Research in mere minutes.

Early Days: Limitations and Potential Pitfalls

However, OpenAI cautions that Deep Research is still in its early stages. The tool may sometimes present fabricated information as fact and struggle to differentiate between rumors and accurate information. Additionally, due to its high computational demands, users will initially be limited to 100 queries per month.