OpenAI Deep Research - AI Tools Nav

What it is for

OpenAI Deep Research is a multi-step research run inside ChatGPT: you give a brief, then the product searches, reads, and writes a sourced report with an activity sidebar. Use it when the job is a cited research memo from one prompt.

Plus includes Deep Research tools at $20/month. Pro adds higher tiers.

What makes it unique: the cover is OpenAI’s official Deep Research still from Introducing deep research — the report pane plus the activity sidebar (Searched / gathering data).

Key features

Sourced multi-step report — research, read, and synthesize a documented report (cover) from Introducing deep research and Deep research in ChatGPT.
Citations — every report includes source links you can check (Deep research in ChatGPT).
Review research plan — edit the proposed plan before the run starts (Deep research in ChatGPT).
Uploaded files — attach PDFs or spreadsheets the run can read as sources (Introducing deep research).
Site-scoped search — restrict or prioritize named websites from Sites → Manage sites (Deep research in ChatGPT).
Connected apps — pull from enabled Drive / SharePoint and other research-capable apps (Deep research in ChatGPT).

Who it's for

Best fit: analysts and students who already pay for ChatGPT Plus or Pro and want a sourced memo.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) from OpenAI Help. chatgpt.com/pricing HTML still hides dollar amounts; cite Help, then confirm at checkout.

Plus — $20/month, billed monthly. Source: What is ChatGPT Plus?. Deep Research tools are listed under expanded features.
Pro 100 — $100/month
Pro 200 — $200/month
Pro 500 — $500/month
Source for Pro: About ChatGPT Pro tiers.

Plus and Pro Help articles describe individual paid plans as monthly. API usage bills separately.

Limitations / costs

chatgpt.com/pricing HTML still hides $. Cite Help, then confirm at checkout.
Deep Research sits on Plus and Pro, so the meter follows those ChatGPT cards.
Runs take minutes on the official still (activity sidebar).
API Deep Research is a separate bill.

Alternatives

ChatGPT — the host assistant (Plus $20; Pro $100 / $200 / $500).
Perplexity — answer engine that leads with citations.
Elicit — literature review tables.

Official tutorial

Official OpenAI channel video: Introduction to Deep Research (oEmbed author: OpenAI).

Written path: Introducing deep research plus What is ChatGPT Plus?.

Website

https://openai.com/index/introducing-deep-research

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is OpenAI’s official Deep Research still from Introducing deep research (report + activity sidebar). Dollars from OpenAI Help (Plus $20; Pro $100 / $200 / $500). Tutorial: Introduction to Deep Research on @OpenAI (oEmbed).

Last verified

2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.