OpenAI plans to make Deep Research free on ChatGPT, in response to competition

By Fionna Agomuoh Published April 2, 2025

OpenAI's new typeface OpenAI Sans — OpenAI

OpenAI has plans to soon make its Deep Research function available for free tier ChatGPT users.

The feature has been available since early February to Plus, Pro, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers; however, the AI company plans to expand availability beyond its paid users. Deep Research goes beyond the standard query results of the brand’s more traditional AI models. The AI agent has the ability to do extended research tasks on command without the help of a human. The feature can provide a detailed report on the subject of your choosing that might take between five and 30 minutes to compile.

Recommended Videos

OpenAI technical staff member, Isa Fulford, recently detailed on an X webcast that Deep Research free availability will soon follow the other tiers. However, she was not able to confirm a specific launch timeline for the function, Android Headlines noted.

“If you haven’t tried deep research, it’s available now for Plus, Pro, Teams, Enterprise, and Edu users, and we’ll launch it for free very soon,” she said.

Deep Research is available as part of the ChatGPT Plus subscription, which goes for $20 per month. Meanwhile, the ChatGPT Pro subscription is available for $200 per month, providing more AI models and greater research ability. OpenAI has already offered some of its pricier features for free in various capacities.

Those with a free Microsoft account can use the ‘Think Deeper’ feature through the Copilot web-based chat or downloadable Copilot app for free. The feature is powered by OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model and is essentially a step before Deep Research. OpenAI also recently made its 4o image generation feature available to free ChatGPT users with a three-mockup limit, whereas the paid tiers have more freedom.

OpenAI has likely taken a step to make its Deep Research function free on ChatGPT after competitor AI brands have made their options more readily available. Google recently made its Deep Research feature on Gemini free about two weeks ago, when it was previously a Google One AI Premium perk. Perplexity AI also provides its Deep Research feature for free; however, Android Headlines noted there are usage limits on the agent.

Computing Writer

Fionna Agomuoh is a Computing Writer at Digital Trends. She covers a range of topics in the computing space, including…

Topics

Computing

Windows 11 is getting a new Screen Tint mode, and your eyes might thank Microsoft

Users can apply custom color overlays to reduce screen intensity and visual fatigue.

Windows 11 on a laptop

Microsoft is testing a new accessibility feature for Windows 11 called Screen Tint, and it could be one of those small additions that make a surprisingly big difference. Instead of changing your display's color temperature like Night Light, Screen Tint applies a customizable color overlay across the entire screen, making bright displays easier on the eyes during long work or gaming sessions.

A softer screen for tired eyes

Computing

Apple’s looking at a politically radioactive fix for the memory crisis, and the US government isn’t happy about it

Apple blamed memory costs for your price hike. Its proposed solution involves a Pentagon blacklist.

Apple Mac Mini on a Desk

A few days ago, Apple announced an ugly mid-cycle price hike, blaming the worsening-by-the-day memory crisis. According to the Financial Times, the company is now lobbying the government for approval to buy memory chips from a Chinese company.

The company in question is CXMT, a Chinese chipmaker that the Pentagon added to its Chinese Military Company blacklist for alleged ties to the Chinese army.

Computing

As iPads get pricier, Motorola’s Pad 70 Pro arrives as a solid option… just not for US buyers yet

Great specs, a stylus in the box, and no US launch date: the Moto Pad 70 Pro sounds both impressive and disappointing.

Computer, Electronics, Laptop

If you don’t know about Apple’s recent price hike, which affected all the products in its lineup except the iPhone and Apple Watch (for now), you’ve got to be living under some sort of a rock. The revision made all the iPads much more expensive.

Motorola, however, has just launched a 13-inch tablet that actually sounds good on paper. It’s called the Moto Pad 70 Pro, and it costs around $440 for the baseline model. The catch, however, is that the device isn’t available in the US yet.