OpenAI has introduced a new, more streamlined version of its ChatGPT deep research feature, which gathers information from the web to create in-depth reports on a given topic, to its ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users, as announced on Thursday.

This new, lightweight deep research capability, also being made available to free ChatGPT users starting today, utilizes a version of OpenAI’s o4-mini model. While it may not be as robust as the original deep research feature, OpenAI notes that it is more cost-effective to operate, thereby allowing for increased usage limits.

“Typical responses will be shorter in length, yet maintain the same level of depth and quality that you have come to expect from us,” OpenAI explained in a series of posts on X. “Once the usage limits for the original deep research version are reached, queries will automatically be redirected to the lightweight version.”

The lightweight deep research feature is powered by a version of OpenAI’s o4-mini model and boasts nearly the same level of intelligence as the original deep research, but with significantly lower operational costs.

Responses will generally be shorter, while maintaining the same level of depth and… pic.twitter.com/H2UD5GThVj

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) April 24, 2025

Recently, there has been a surge in the launch of deep research tools across various chatbots, including Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and xAI’s Grok. These tools are driven by reasoning AI models, which possess the ability to critically think through problems and verify facts – essential skills for conducting in-depth research on a subject.

According to OpenAI, the lightweight deep research feature will be available to Enterprise and educational users next week, with the same usage levels as Team users.