Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More
Many of us in the AI and business worlds are focused — anecdotally and in terms of the number of articles and messages being written/posted — on OpenAI and DeepSeek, especially OpenAI’s o3-powered Deep Research mode, a new reasoning AI agent that performs extensive web research on behalf of the user and compiles it into neat and tidy, well-cited reports.
This is natural since it’s a relatively new product (announced earlier this month) and OpenAI remains among the most highly-regarded and widely used AI model providers. Plus, CEO Sam Altman recently shared plans to make this product available outside of the current $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro subscription, at least on a limited trial basis.
Yet for those seeking to use AI to perform Deep Research and have it write reports for you, there’s another model worth checking out without waiting for OpenAI’s Deep Research to make its way to more affordable subscription tiers or shelling out the $200-per-month for the ChatGPT Pro plan.
Search giant Google’s own Deep Research mode, powered by its prior generation Gemini 1.5 Pro model, is available now on Google’s Gemini chatbot online through the Google One AI Premium plan (~$20 USD per month), and performs many of the same functionality as OpenAI’s Deep Research at 1/10th the monthly cost. Google actually offers the first month free, currently.
It also allows you to export the resulting reports directly to Google Docs with one click. For those that use Google Workspace apps like Docs, this is an incredibly helpful and natural integration.
How to use Google Deep Research to generate reports in minutes
To access it, subscribe to the Google One AI Premium plan using the link above, then navigate to gemini.google.com, click the drop down menu labeled “Gemini Advanced” in the upper left corner, and select “1.5 Pro with Deep Research.” Every query you type into the entry bar at the bottom after this will now engage Deep Research mode.
After the user enters the prompt, the Deep Research agent will draft a research plan for the user’s approval that looks something like this:
The user can click to edit parts of the plan by prompting with new adjustments, or go ahead and click the “Start Research” button to begin the process.
The Deep Research agent will compile a list of websites to perform the research on, and finally, a report in the form of a response that the user can quickly export to Google Docs with the “Open in Docs” button at the top right of the response box.
Whether it’s researching scholarly topics such as conflict throughout history, or the science of new materials like graphene, or market fluctuations, or coming up with concrete business plans for mass producing a new physical small consumer goods product, my own extensive hands-on usage of Google’s Deep Research over the last few days has produced informative reports on a wide range of subjects, complete with citations and well-constructed explanations of the topics discussed.
Even such controversial subjects that other AI models often refuse to engage with whatsoever — such as the recent Israeli military campaign in Gaza and whether or not it qualifies as a genocide, or the treatment of transgender people throughout history and in recent times — Google’s Deep Research will attempt to address using evidence from a variety of reputable sources, albeit with a bit of prompt engineering to get around initial resistance.
I would strongly encourage all and any business leaders, especially those in “knowledge work” or manufacturing fields, to try Google Deep Research: have it produce reports on subjects related to your industry, and ask it to identify new opportunities or helpful insights to grow your business and gain efficiencies, which you might have missed.
Basically treat it like a new helpful researcher on your team, give it some instructions in the form of a paragraph (or a few), and let it compile the report for you — mine took anywhere from seconds to less than 10 minutes. I strongly believe you will be impressed with the results, and may find it changes your workflow and approach for the better.
Take a look at examples of 8 reports I generated with Google Deep Research below, complete with initial prompt, and try it for yourself. These are all unedited, raw reports produced directly by Google’s Deep Research powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro.
I should hasten to add I’m not being paid by Google for this post or any other work, and am simply a tech journalist/geek by constitution who enjoys testing out new products and services and seeing how, if at all, they can be useful to me and my own personal knowledge repository.
1. Sleep research
Prompt: “Compile me a report cross referencing various and any recent applicable studies and other scientific information about sleep length per night, and why some people may need less or more sleep than others, any genetic basis for this, and health effects of low sleep as well as whether low sleepers tend to suffer these or have genetics that protect them from the effects of low sleep.”
Result: “Sleep Duration, Individual Variability, and Health Consequences: A Comprehensive Review“
2. Economic boom and bust research
Prompt: “Markets globally and for individual countries and commodities are known for having peaks and valleys, with sudden “black swan” events that often drive economic activity down. Research these throughout history, from the Tulip Craze of Amsterdam to the Great Depression and Global Financial Crisis and subsequent Global Recession, plus any other notable examples you can find, and discuss any overlapping commonalities in causes for market decline and resurgence, and also which markets continued to grow and thrive in depression and recessionary environments.“
3. Making a new mass produced consumer product
Prompt: “I have an idea for a new small (approx 3-4 inches long, 1 inch thick) multitool keyring I want to mass produce and sell in the U.S. (and ideally, to most countries at some point). It should be made of a strong material, ideally metal, but one that is affordable and cost effective for my purposes. Ideally I will sell the tool for no more than $15.99 per unit to the end consumer, and pocket the maximum amount of profits that I can after all of the costs associated with production, distribution, and marketing on social media and other digital channels (primarily). Please research suppliers and how I can go about beginning to mass produce this in as short amount a time as possible.“
Result: “Multitool Keyring Mass Production Business Plan“
4. New materials research
Prompt: “There have been breakthroughs in new materials such as graphene and other metamaterials or piezoelectric materials in recent years. Research the most promising for commercial application and societal transformation — particularly unlocking new capabilities — and explain their current status of commercialization or more widespread usage and any impediments preventing them, such as high cost or difficulty synthesizing, and proposed ideas to overcome them.“
Result: “Breakthrough Materials: Graphene and Piezoelectric Materials Poised to Transform Society“
5. Unintended consequences of technologies and how they apply to AI
Prompt: “One of the most interesting yet often least discussed recurring problems throughout human history concerns the “unintended consequences” of new technologies. For example, the Industrial Revolution brought about the use of coal to power engines and factories, and this and subsequent fossil fuels such as oil and gasoline continue to be used today to power many vital processes in society, yet it is now scientifically and widely understood that the emissions are contributing to global warming which threatens humanity’s survival and that of many lifeforms on Earth. Another unintended consequence concerns plastic — petroleum products that can be formed into many different shapes with differing qualities such as flexibility and strength and color, with high pliability and malleability and low cost — which has been adopted widely in packaging and other consumer and industrial products and building materials, but which now produces so much waste around the globe it threatens human health in the form of microplastics in the body and brain. Also worth examining are the use of the pesticide DDT and its ultimate ban by the U.S. government after writings from environmentalist Rachel Carson. On the flip side, errant worries and fearmongering about new technologies such as nuclear power in the 1970s led to discontinuation or suspension of projects that could have resulted in a cleaner electrical grid and saved thousands or millions due to the effects of pollution and global warming. Taking all this into account and any other relevant historical examples of the unintended consequences of technology, explain how societies should approach new advances such as AI, what level of caution and mechanisms are appropriate, the risks of overregulation or adversaries weaponizing new technology or using it prosper at the expense of the originating society, and to what extent new tech should be embraced by people or should be viewed more cautiously.“
Result: “The Unintended Consequences of Technology: A Historical Perspective and the Path Forward with AI“
6. Gender expression throughout history and today
Prompt: “Gender and sexuality studies have seen numerous developments throughout human history even in the face of repressive government regimes and moralizing politicians and opponents. It is a field with many different theories that encompasses and touches upon numerous other disciplines such as biology, sociology, culture, neurology, genetics, and more. Investigate this field to discuss the evolving understanding of transgenderism, its possible causes or cooccurrences with other human attributes, using firsthand accounts of transgender patients, and discuss the outsized role transgender issues has taken in recent years and the reasons for this — is the community a political scapegoat? And furthermore, research and discuss the emergence of nonbinary and other alternate gender expressions and identities throughout history, even going back to Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and the Two Spirit identity of Native American tribes and other indigenous forms of gender expression, summarizing this phenomena and recording its prevalence across time.”
Result: “Gender and Sexuality Studies: Transgenderism and Alternate Gender Identities“
7. Genocide throughout history and whether or not Israel’s recent actions in Gaza qualify
Prompt: “One of the most tragic recurrences throughout human recorded history is of genocides, in which a powerful and usually armed group seeks to oppress, subjugate, and ultimately eliminate one less powerful and less armed. The Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany against its and the larger population of European Jews is one example taught today in many (most?) Western schools. There are also less well known yet still critically important and tragic incidents such as the Rwandan Genocide and the Armenian Genocide. Discuss the commonalities in these horrific incidents throughout history — in the social climate leading up to them in their respective locations — and examine current sources of information in the news and scholarly articles to identify whether or not Israel’s recent military actions in Gaza qualify as genocide, and why.“
8. UAP research
Prompt: “Research every verifiable source you can about UFOs and UAPs and prepare me a report of some of the theories that explain them with the most evidence or that you believe are best supported by available evidence“
Result: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): An Examination of Leading Theories and Evidence“
