OpenAI Upgrades Research Tool

- The Deep Research feature was first introduced by OpenAI in early February 2025. It is designed to autonomously conduct in-depth research by synthesizing information from numerous online sources to create comprehensive reports. - This tool is powered by a version of OpenAI's o3 model, which is optimized for reasoning and data analysis. It breaks down a user's query into smaller sub-questions and browses the web to gather data from text, PDFs, and images. - The recent upgrade provides users a fullscreen document viewer with a table of contents to navigate reports and a column for citations. Users can now also monitor the research progress in real-time and make adjustments, such as adding new sources, while a report is being generated. - Initially, Deep Research was exclusively available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers at $200 per month. OpenAI has since expanded access to Plus and Team subscribers, with plans for further availability. - The tool is positioned for professionals in fields like finance, science, and engineering who require well-cited, structured reports. However, OpenAI acknowledges that it may still struggle to distinguish authoritative information from rumors. - The process can take anywhere from five to 30 minutes to complete, depending on the complexity of the research query. The final output is a structured report that includes citations and source links for verification. - Competitors like Google's Gemini and Perplexity AI offer similar deep research functionalities. While Perplexity is noted for its speed, OpenAI's tool is often recognized for the depth of its analysis. - The emphasis on source selection and citations addresses a broader theme in journalism and AI: the need for transparency and accountability to build and maintain trust with audiences.