In short. ChatGPT deep research investigates multi-source questions and produces structured reports with citations for review.

Definition: ChatGPT deep research is a research feature that combines information from multiple sources into a structured report with citations. It supports questions that require sustained investigation and synthesis.

As of 17 October 2026, OpenAI's deep research documentation describes the following controls and outputs.

Key facts

OpenAI's help page lists the public web and uploaded files as default sources.
OpenAI Academy's Deep research guide describes an editable plan and progress monitoring during research.
OpenAI's launch document, dated 2 February 2025, describes a process that searches and interprets online material, changing direction in response to information it encounters.

How does multi-source research work?

OpenAI's launch document explains that deep research learns to plan and execute a sequence of browsing and reasoning steps, backtracking when necessary. It describes analyzing text, images and PDFs, and citing specific sentences or passages from sources. This connects information gathering with the evidence presented in the final report.

OpenAI Academy's guide recommends specifying the research goal, scope, timeframe and output format. Its examples include competitor positioning studies and vendor evaluations. For vendor evaluation, it proposes comparing documented capabilities and producing a scorecard with validation steps for a trial.

Which sources can a task use?

The help documentation places website controls under Sites > Manage sites. Research can be restricted to entered domains, or those domains can receive priority while broader web searching remains enabled. A website review therefore needs to record which setting defines its scope.

Supported connected apps can supply additional sources, subject to account permissions and workspace settings. Research uses their available read actions.

The documentation gives this prompt command as a way to start a task:

/Deepresearch

How can a report be checked and reused?

The help page describes a report view with a table of contents, a sources used section and an activity history. Downloads include Markdown, Word and PDF.

OpenAI Academy's review guidance recommends inspecting citations and validating key claims against the underlying sources. It also recommends retaining citations when reusing material. Its competitive analysis example turns the findings into a feature comparison table with citations, keeping supporting evidence attached to the comparison.

FAQ

When should I use deep research instead of search?

OpenAI's help page recommends search for quick facts. Deep research takes longer to analyze multiple sources and produces a detailed report.

Can I change the direction during research?

Yes. OpenAI Academy's guide describes interrupting a running task to narrow its scope or add sources. After receiving a report, you can request a version for a different audience or level of detail.

Sources

Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer