Deep Research: Multi-Step Web Investigation

Claude's Research feature transforms how you gather information at scale. Instead of conducting manual searches, Claude operates as an agent-it breaks down your question into multiple angles, searches independently for each angle, cross-checks findings, and synthesizes everything into a single sourced report. The entire process runs agentic, meaning Claude determines what to investigate next based on what it discovers.

To enable Research, click the "+" button on the lower left of your chat interface, then select "Research." A blue indicator will appear at the bottom of your chat window showing that Research is active. Alternatively, in newer Claude experiences, you can type the slash command /deep-research to trigger the feature. Important prerequisite: web search must be enabled in your account settings first, as Research builds on top of web search capabilities.

Once Research is activated, ask Claude your question naturally. Claude will automatically kick off the research process across both the public web and any internal sources you've connected (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs when linked). Unlike a simple web search where Claude finds one answer, Research spawns parallel investigation threads. Each thread explores different aspects of your topic independently, finding sources, evaluating credibility, and synthesizing information. Claude then cross-checks claims across all threads-information that survives this verification becomes part of your final report.

Professional example: You need a competitive analysis of AI tools in your market segment. You ask Claude: "Research the current landscape of AI code generation tools, comparing pricing, model performance, and enterprise adoption rates." Research automatically breaks this into subquestions: What are the leading code generation tools? What's their current pricing? How do their models compare on benchmarks? What companies are adopting them? Claude searches each angle, finds authoritative sources (company websites, benchmark papers, industry reports), evaluates which sources are credible, and synthesizes everything into a structured report with citations. You receive the report within minutes-far faster than manual research-and every claim includes a source link you can verify.

Research is available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise) and works across web, Claude Desktop, and mobile. While it uses more of your message quota than standard chat because of the multi-step investigation process, it's invaluable for research-heavy workflows where accuracy and sourced findings matter more than response speed.