Use web search and deep research

Turn on web search when an answer needs current information, and pair it with the Deep tier for research-style work.

What you need

• An open chat with the message box enabled.

Steps

1. Turn on web search. Choose Search web beside the send button. When it is on, it is highlighted and its tooltip reads "Web search on – click to turn off".

   

2. Pick a tier for research. Choose Deep for complex questions that need careful analysis. See Choose Quick, Balanced, or Deep.

3. Ask a research question and say what output you want, such as "compare three options in a table, with what changed this year".

4. Follow up. Short follow-ups such as "dig deeper on the top two" continue the research.

5. Turn it off when you no longer need it by choosing Search web again.

Expected result

While the assistant works you see "Working..." or the tool it is running, and an activity panel under the reply records the search steps.

Tips

• There is no separate "Deep research" button. Deep research here means the Deep tier plus web search.
• On Quick, the assistant searches only when you turn Search web on. On Balanced and Deep it can also decide to search for a message, and you can still switch it on yourself.
• Ask the assistant to include the sources it used.
• Export the result with Export structured output to Word.

Troubleshooting

• The answer does not use the web. Switch Search web on and resend, or ask explicitly to search.
• Search fails or returns nothing. Try again later. See File or search not working.