OpenAI unveiled a new AI tool, “deep research,” on Sunday, designed to conduct multi-step research on the internet for complex tasks.
The tool is powered by a version of OpenAI’s upcoming o3 model, optimized for web browsing and data analysis.
Users can input a prompt, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT will analyze multiple online sources—including text, images, and PDFs—to generate a comprehensive report at the level of a research analyst. OpenAI claims the tool completes in minutes what would take a human hours.
Despite its capabilities, OpenAI acknowledged deep research is still in its early stages and has limitations. The company noted that the tool may struggle to distinguish authoritative information from rumors and often fails to convey uncertainty accurately.
Deep research is available from Sunday on the web version of ChatGPT and will be rolled out to mobile and desktop apps within February, OpenAI said. This marks OpenAI’s second AI agent launch this year, following “Operator” in January, which assists with tasks like creating to-do lists and vacation planning.
