ChatGPT Deep Research: stop trusting the first draft

A normal chat answer is fine for a quick fact. Deep Research is the better fit when one answer has to combine several sources and show the trail.

The useful move is not a longer prompt. The useful move is a reviewable brief: name the outcome, set the source boundary, and ask for a proposed plan before the research starts. Open Deep Research from the + tools menu, the sidebar, or /Deepresearch. Use Sites > Manage sites when particular domains matter. ChatGPT can restrict the run to those sites or prioritize those sites while still searching the wider web 1.

Before the run, edit the proposed plan. During the run, follow progress or interrupt to change the focus and sources. At the end, open the citations and source links before reusing the report. Deep Research takes longer than Search, availability and task counts vary by plan, and the in-product counter shows the remaining tasks 1.

Try one question you usually answer by opening ten tabs. Ask for a cited report, a visible research plan, and a short list of uncertainties.