What is Deep Research in AI? (Gemini,Perplexity and ChatGPT)

By
AI Institute
,

Deep Research in AI is a new and important way AI systems can help with research tasks. These tools can save time by doing work that would normally take humans many hours to complete.

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Understanding Deep Research in AI

Let's find out more about how to use Deep Research in AI:

The Concept of Deep Research

Deep Research refers to AI systems that can work on their own to find, study, and summarise information about complex topics. Unlike basic AI chatbots that give quick answers, Deep Research tools can spend minutes (usually 2-4 but sometimes more!) working through multiple steps to create detailed reports.

These systems can:

  • Search through many sources
  • Compare different viewpoints
  • Find connections between ideas
  • Create well-organised summaries

The key benefit is time savings. What might take a human expert several hours of reading and writing can be done by AI in just a few minutes. This doesn't replace human thinking but helps speed up the research process.

Deep Research Tools

Several major AI platforms now offer Deep Research features:

ChatGPT (OpenAI): Their Deep Research mode lets you give a prompt, then ChatGPT works by itself to find information, study it, and create a summary. It works best for complex topics needing in-depth analysis.

Perplexity AI: Their Deep Research completes in 2-4 minutes what might take human experts many hours. It focuses on giving well-cited, thorough answers.

Gemini (Google): Similar to the others, Gemini's Deep Research can handle multi-step research tasks and create detailed reports.

Grok: Offers real-time information with a different approach to depth vs speed.

Each tool has its own strengths. Some focus on speed while others aim for more depth and detail.

Applications in Various Domains

Deep Research AI tools are useful in many fields:

Academic Research: Students and researchers can use them to quickly review literature, find sources, and get summaries of complex topics.

Business Intelligence: Companies can analyse market trends, competitor information, and industry reports much faster.

Healthcare: Medical professionals can stay updated on new research and treatment options.

Legal Research: Lawyers can quickly search through cases and laws to find relevant information.

These tools work best for tasks that need lots of information from different sources. They're not perfect for tasks needing creative thinking or handling very new topics where little information exists online.

Gemini Deep Research

Gemini Deep Research is a new feature for Gemini Advanced users that helps with complex research tasks. This tool works like a personal research assistant that can save you hours of time.

When you use Deep Research, you start by typing your research question. Gemini then creates a research plan for you to review and approve.

Once approved, Gemini begins searching the web for relevant information. It works much like you would - searching, finding information, and then searching again based on what it learns.

The process takes just a few minutes. At the end, you get a complete report with key findings and links to original sources. You can export this report to a Google Doc if you want to save it.

This feature is especially helpful for:

  • Students working on presentations or papers
  • Entrepreneurs researching competitors
  • Marketers planning campaigns

Deep Research uses Gemini's reasoning abilities plus Google's search expertise. It can handle the 1M token context window, which means it can process large amounts of information.

The feature is currently available in English on desktop and mobile web for Gemini Advanced users. It will come to the mobile app and Workspace accounts in early 2025.

To try it, simply select "Gemini 1.5 Pro with Deep Research" from the model drop-down menu and enter your question.

Perplexity Deep Research

Perplexity Deep Research is a feature that can help you find detailed answers to complex questions in just 2-4 minutes. This tool saves you hours of research time by quickly gathering and analysing information.

Perplexity was among the first AI tools to focus on deep research capabilities. It combines large language models with real-time web search to create thorough responses to your questions.

What makes Perplexity stand out is how it integrates data from various sources. It pulls in current information from the web and provides references and citations for its findings.

In independent evaluations, Perplexity has performed well against other AI research assistants. It often scores highly for research depth and data integration, outperforming many competitors.

Key strengths of Perplexity Deep Research:

  • Real-time web searching
  • Proper citations and references
  • Quick processing (2-4 minutes for complex topics)
  • Integration of multiple data sources

You might find Perplexity particularly useful when you need to explore a topic thoroughly but don't have hours to spend searching and reading multiple sources.

The platform works by breaking down your question, searching for relevant information, and then combining this data into a clear, well-organised response.

ChatGPT Deep Research

ChatGPT Deep Research is a feature designed to help you find more detailed information on complex topics. Released by OpenAI, this tool expands ChatGPT's abilities beyond its training data.

The system takes about 2-4 minutes to complete research that would take a human expert hours to gather. This time saving is one of its biggest benefits.

When you use Deep Research in ChatGPT, the AI actively searches online for additional information. It cross-checks facts from different sources to increase accuracy.

Unlike standard ChatGPT, the Deep Research mode creates more thorough, report-style outputs. These responses include citations so you can check where information came from.

The feature is quite similar to what Google's Gemini and Perplexity AI offer. All three services aim to make in-depth research faster and more accessible.

ChatGPT Deep Research works best for questions that need detailed answers from multiple sources. It's less useful for simple queries or very recent events.

Key features:

  • Online information gathering
  • Fact cross-checking
  • Cited sources
  • Report-style outputs
  • 2-4 minute processing time

You might find ChatGPT Deep Research helpful for academic projects, business research, or learning about complex topics. The tool simplifies the research process by gathering information from many sources in one place.

Impact on Business and Economics

Deep Research tools are changing how businesses get information and make choices. These AI systems help companies find better data and understand economic trends faster than ever before.

Deep Research for Business News

Deep Research tools help businesses stay informed about market changes and industry developments. Companies use these AI tools to scan thousands of news sources in minutes, finding relevant information that might affect their operations.

For example, a finance team can ask Gemini or Perplexity to analyse recent banking regulation changes and get a complete report with key points highlighted. This saves hours of manual research time.

Investment firms find these tools particularly useful for quick market analysis. A fund manager can request research on a specific company before making investment decisions.

Deep Research can also track competitors by gathering and summarising their public announcements, product launches, and financial results. This helps businesses spot market trends and adjust strategies accordingly.

AI and the Global Economic Landscape

Deep Research is reshaping how economists and businesses understand global markets. These tools can process massive amounts of economic data from different countries and present clear patterns.

Policy makers use these AI systems to analyse how certain decisions might affect different economic sectors. This helps with creating more informed policies based on comprehensive data.

For trading companies, Deep Research tools monitor currency fluctuations and trade agreements across multiple regions at once. This gives them better insight for international business planning.

Supply chain managers benefit from AI analysis of global shipping data, port congestion, and manufacturing disruptions. The tools can predict potential issues before they become major problems.

Small businesses can now access the same quality of economic research as larger corporations through these AI tools, levelling the playing field in many industries.

Advanced Features for Pro Users

Premium versions of AI deep research tools offer more searches, faster results, and exclusive functions. These upgrades can help serious researchers and professionals get more value from their AI assistants.

ChatGPT Plus and Its Offerings

ChatGPT Plus costs about £16 (€20) monthly and gives users access to OpenAI's deep research tools. With this subscription, you get GPT-4 capabilities that can create detailed research reports on complex topics.

The Plus version lets you:

  • Use the full deep research function
  • Access faster response times
  • Get priority during high-traffic periods
  • Use the tool when demand is high

Plus subscribers can run multiple research queries without hitting the limits free users face. The system can find information, analyse it, and create reports that would take humans hours to complete.

Subscription Models in AI Tools

Different AI research tools have various pricing structures:

  • Perplexity Pro (~£16 / €20 per month)
    • 500 deep research queries per day
  • ChatGPT Plus (~£16 / €20 per month)
    • Unlimited GPT-4 access
    • Deep research capabilities
  • Gemini Advanced (~£16 / €20 per month)
    • Enhanced research capabilities
  • Free plans typically limit users to a small number of deep research queries per day. This can be as few as 5-10 searches, which isn't enough for serious work.

    Pro subscriptions remove these limits or increase them dramatically. Perplexity Pro, for example, allows up to 500 queries per day.

    Exclusive Access and Enhanced Performance for Pro Subscribers

    Pro subscribers get faster processing speeds and more complete research reports. Your queries jump to the front of the queue, reducing wait times during busy periods.

    The quality of research differs too. Pro versions often:

    • Search more sources
    • Create longer, more detailed reports
    • Include better citations and references
    • Offer customisation options for output formats

    Some platforms give pro users early access to new features before they reach free users. This happened with deep research tools, which were first available only to paying customers.

    Pro subscriptions also typically include better privacy features. Many allow you to delete your search history and offer stronger data protection measures than free versions.

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