ChatGPT’s awesome Deep Research gets a light version and goes free for all

AI is everywhere these days, and it feels like every company out there is trying to force it into their products just to stay relevant. But hidden beneath all the hype, there are actually some genuinely useful AI tools—though most of them come with a hefty price tag. One of the best examples is ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, and it seems OpenAI is finally being a little more generous with it.

The company has just introduced a lightweight version of Deep Research, powered by its new o4-mini language model. According to OpenAI, this version is “more cost-efficient” while still maintaining high-quality results. The best part? It’s completely free—no subscription needed, no hidden catches.

Why Does This Matter?

Deep Research, as the name suggests, isn’t just another chatbot that spits out quick answers. It’s more like a smart research assistant that scours the web, gathers information, and presents it in a well-structured, detailed report—almost like something you’d get from a professional researcher. Compared to the usual one-line AI replies, this feels like getting a properly written paper on whatever topic you ask about.

The new lightweight version runs on OpenAI’s o4-mini model, and while it’s a bit scaled down, it’s almost as smart as the original Deep Research people already love. The big difference? It’s way cheaper for OpenAI to run, which is why they’re now offering it for free.

You can even customize your research—like asking it to focus only on academic papers, news articles, or corporate reports—and it’ll still give you a properly formatted answer with citations, headings, bullet points, and even tables. In short, what would normally take hours of Googling and writing, Deep Research can do in just a few minutes.

The catch? Running this kind of deep, high-quality research takes a lot of computing power, which is why OpenAI has kept it exclusive to paying users until now. But with this new lightweight version, not only is it available for free, but OpenAI is also increasing the search limits for paying subscribers.

What’s New for Users?

• Free users now get 5 Deep Research queries per month (up from just 1 before).
• Other AI tools like Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Perplexity also offer similar features.

For those who pay for ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), the limit jumps to 25 queries per month—same for Education, Team, and Enterprise plans. If you’re on the $200/month Pro plan, you get a massive 250 attempts every month.

Once you hit your monthly limit, the system automatically switches you to the lightweight version. OpenAI says this version is “nearly as good” as the full Deep Research experience—just with shorter responses (but without losing depth or accuracy).

Why Is This a Big Deal?

This is great news for people who couldn’t afford a subscription but still wanted a powerful AI tool for real work—not just for making fun images or casual chat. Now, even free users can get serious, well-researched answers without paying a dime.