In short. ChatGPT deep research can restrict research to selected domains or prioritize them while allowing full web search.
Definition: Deep research's preferred-source configuration is the Sites > Manage sites control in ChatGPT. It lets a user restrict research to entered websites or domains, or prioritize those sites while still allowing full-web search.
Key facts
- OpenAI says deep research can use the public web and uploaded files by default in ChatGPT's standard source selection (OpenAI Help Center).
- The Sites > Manage sites control accepts websites or domains and offers a restriction mode and a broader-search priority mode.
- The priority mode is explicitly documented as allowing full-web search while emphasizing the selected sources.
- A comma-separated list can contain multiple websites.
- OpenAI's separate ChatGPT search guidance says a website's search eligibility includes allowing OAI-Searchbot to crawl it and allowing traffic from OpenAI's published searchbot IP addresses (OpenAI Help Center).
How does the preferred-source setting work?
OpenAI places the control in the ChatGPT prompt window under Sites > Manage sites. After entering websites or domains, the user chooses whether research stays within those sources or whether they receive priority while the broader web remains available.
Sites > Manage sites
Prioritize these sites, but allow full-web search
The documentation also allows websites to be entered as a comma-separated list. It does not state a maximum list size or explain the weighting used when the priority mode selects among sources.
What does “search more broadly” mean here?
The priority option keeps the public web in the available source set. OpenAI describes deep research as a process that combines and analyzes information from multiple sources, and its help page says the research plan can be reviewed and modified before the task starts. During the run, progress can be followed and the source access can be adjusted.
This is different from the restriction option, which limits the configured research task to the websites or domains entered in Sites > Manage sites. The setting therefore controls the source scope for that research task rather than changing a website's content or its general presence in ChatGPT search.
What can a website owner check?
OpenAI's ChatGPT search documentation says search results use multiple factors intended to help users find relevant, reliable information. It also documents a crawler requirement for search inclusion: allow OAI-Searchbot to crawl the site and confirm that the host or content delivery network allows traffic from OpenAI's published searchbot IP addresses.
The crawler requirement concerns ChatGPT search eligibility. The preferred-source setting is documented in the user's deep research interface, where selected domains are entered and the search scope is chosen.
How should the result be reviewed?
Deep research outputs include citations or source links. OpenAI describes a fullscreen report with a sources used section and an activity history, and says completed reports can be downloaded in Markdown, Word, and PDF formats. ChatGPT's search help advises opening a cited source to check its support for the answer and says search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect.
Related terms
FAQ
Can I limit deep research to my selected domains?
Yes. In Sites > Manage sites, choose the option that restricts research to only the websites or domains entered.
Can I emphasize selected sites and keep broader web search?
Yes. Choose “Prioritize these sites, but allow full-web search.” OpenAI documents this as the mode that emphasizes the entered sources while still searching the broader web.
Does this setting control a site's ChatGPT search eligibility?
No single setting is documented for both purposes. OpenAI describes preferred sites in the deep research prompt controls and describes OAI-Searchbot access as part of making a website eligible for ChatGPT search.
Sources
- OpenAI Help Center, "Deep research in ChatGPT", updated 27 days ago
- OpenAI Help Center, "Searching the web with ChatGPT", updated 30 days ago
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