Isla Fulford’s Hunch Pays Off: Deep Research Proves to be a Hit
A Game-Changer in AI Research
Isla Fulford, a researcher at OpenAI, had a hunch that Deep Research would be a hit even before it was released. Fulford was part of the team that built the artificial intelligence agent, which autonomously explores the web, deciding for itself what links to click, what to read, and what to collate into an in-depth report.
A Tool for Policymakers and Professionals
Deep Research was first made available internally at OpenAI, and whenever it went down, Fulford says she was inundated with queries from colleagues eager to have it back. "The number of people who were DMing me made us pretty excited," says Fulford. Since its public release on February 2, Deep Research has proven to be a hit with many users outside the company too.
Praise from Early Adopters
Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, posted on Twitter a few days after the product was released: "Deep Research has written 6 reports so far today. It is indeed excellent. Congrats to the folks behind it." Dean Ball, a fellow at George Mason University who specializes in AI policy, wrote: "Deep Research is the AI product that really got a meaningful chunk of the policymaking community in DC to start feeling the AGI."
How it Works
Deep Research is available as part of the ChatGPT Pro plan, which costs $200 per month. It takes a query, such as "Write me a report on the Massachusetts health insurance industry," or "Tell me about WIRED’s coverage of the Department of Government Efficiency," and then comes up with a plan, searching for relevant websites, combing through their content, and deciding what links to click and what information deserves further investigation. After exploring for sometimes tens of minutes, it synthesizes its findings into a detailed report, which may include citations, data, and charts.
A New Era in AI Research
The Deep Research model itself goes through an artificial kind of reasoning before devising a plan and moving forward with each step. The model provides details of this reasoning behind its research in a side window. "Sometimes it’s like ‘I need to backtrack, this doesn’t seem that promising,’" says Josh Tobin, another OpenAI researcher involved in building Deep Research. "It’s pretty cool to read some of those trajectories, just to understand how the model is thinking."
Scaling the Technology
OpenAI sees Deep Research as a tool that could take on more office work. "This is a thing that we can scale," Tobin says, adding that the agent could be trained to complete specific white-collar work, such as preparing reports or presentations. The longer goal is to "build an agent that is not just good at building reports through searching the web, but is good at many other types of tasks too."
Surprising Uses
Tobin’s team was surprised to see many people using Deep Research to generate code. "It’s an interesting thread to pull," he says. "We’re not totally sure what to make of it."
Conclusion
Deep Research has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach research and office work. With its ability to autonomously explore the web, synthesize information, and provide detailed reports, it is no wonder that it has been met with such enthusiasm from policymakers and professionals alike.
FAQs
Q: What is Deep Research?
A: Deep Research is an artificial intelligence agent that autonomously explores the web, deciding for itself what links to click, what to read, and what to collate into an in-depth report.
Q: How does Deep Research work?
A: Deep Research takes a query, searches for relevant websites, combines through their content, and decides what links to click and what information deserves further investigation. After exploring for sometimes tens of minutes, it synthesizes its findings into a detailed report.
Q: How much does Deep Research cost?
A: Deep Research is available as part of the ChatGPT Pro plan, which costs $200 per month.
Q: What are the potential uses of Deep Research?
A: Deep Research has the potential to take on more office work, such as preparing reports or presentations, and could be trained to complete specific white-collar work.
