AI Tool WatchDo Multi-Step Research
Can plan, search, synthesize, and return a more developed research output across multiple steps or sources.
Definition
What counts
- deep research reports
- multi-query synthesis
- cited research workflows
What doesn't count
- a single simple web lookup
- unsupported claims without evidence gathering
Product Availability (5 products)
ChatGPT
Agent Mode
ChatGPT's Agent Mode lets it browse the web and take actions on your behalf. It's available on **Plus ($20/mo) and higher**—the new $8 Go plan does NOT include it. Plus gives you 40 agent tasks per month; Pro gives you 400. **Now available in EEA**—basic agent tasks rolled out to Europe in late July 2025; some Connector features remain restricted.
Access: paid
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✗ | |
| Go | ✗ | |
| Plus | ✓ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Team | ✓ | |
| Enterprise | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-03-20
Deep Research
Deep Research lets ChatGPT spend minutes researching a topic thoroughly. **Now available on all plans including free**—free users get 5 lightweight queries/month (powered by o4-mini). Plus gets 10 full + 15 lightweight per month; Pro gets 125 + 125.
Access: free
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| Go | ✓ | |
| Plus | ✓ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Team | ✓ | |
| Enterprise | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-03-20
Claude
Cowork Mode
Cowork is Claude's background agent—**it launched January 2026 and expanded to all paid plans in February**. It's available on Pro ($20/mo) and above, on macOS and Windows desktop. It's still a research preview but already useful for delegating multi-step tasks.
Access: paid
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✗ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Max 5x | ✓ | |
| Max 20x | ✓ | |
| Team | ✓ | |
| Enterprise | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS
Verified: 2026-04-03
Gemini
Deep Research
Gemini's Deep Research creates comprehensive reports on complex topics. **Now available on the free tier (~5 reports/month via Gemini Flash)**; AI Pro ($19.99/mo) gets full access with Gemini 3.0 Pro for deeper research.
Access: free
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| AI Pro | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-03-23
NotebookLM
NotebookLM lets you upload documents and have AI conversations grounded in your sources—it even generates podcast-style audio summaries. **Free to use** with generous limits; AI Pro increases source limits.
Access: free
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| AI Pro | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-02-28
Grok
DeepSearch
DeepSearch is Grok's multi-step research mode. **Premium+ or SuperGrok recommended** for full access; basic Premium has limited DeepSearch.
Access: paid
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✗ | |
| Premium | ✓ | |
| Premium+ | ✓ | |
| SuperGrok | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS Linux iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-03-24
Perplexity
Agent Mode (Agentic Actions) / Perplexity Computer
Perplexity Computer is a cloud-based agent that orchestrates 19+ AI models for multi-step workflows. **Basic actions work on free**; Pro ($20/mo) unlocks advanced capabilities. **Max ($200/mo) adds full Computer access, Voice Mode, and Personal Computer**—a dedicated Mac mini that runs 24/7 as your local agent. Enterprise gets Computer for Enterprise with Slack/Snowflake/Salesforce integrations. Four platform APIs (Search, Agent, Embeddings, Sandbox) are now available for developers.
Access: paid
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Max | ✓ | |
| Enterprise Pro | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS Linux iOS Android web API
Verified: 2026-03-21
Pages
Pages let you turn research into shareable, formatted articles with AI-generated sections and citations. **Available on all plans including free.** Created pages are public and searchable.
Access: free
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Max | ✓ | |
| Enterprise Pro | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS Linux iOS Android Chrome web
Verified: 2026-01-29
Pro Search
Pro Search does deeper research with follow-up questions. **Free users get 5-10 Pro searches per day**; Pro subscription makes it unlimited.
Access: paid
| Plan | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✓ | |
| Pro | ✓ | |
| Max | ✓ |
Surfaces: Windows macOS Linux iOS Android Chrome web API
Verified: 2026-02-07
Also Known As
deep research, AI research assistant, multi-step research, research agent, comprehensive research