Auto-cite research reports with Claude Research

Claude's Research Mode runs multi-step web searches and synthesizes findings into cited reports in minutes instead of hours. This feature automatically collects sources, extracts relevant passages, and compiles everything with linked citations you can verify - perfect for competitive intelligence, market analysis, or regulatory tracking where current sources and citation trails matter.

Claude Research Mode is an agentic feature available in paid plans that transforms how teams handle research-heavy workflows. When you toggle Research on in the prompt bar and ask a question, Claude doesn't just search once - it runs a multi-step research plan: searching the web, opening promising sources, extracting relevant passages, and synthesizing a written answer with linked citations.

To use it: Enable Research in Claude.ai's settings or toggle it on directly in your prompt box before typing your question. Claude will run the search autonomously across hundreds of sources. For example, a product manager investigating "What regulatory changes affected fintech compliance in the last 90 days?" gets back a structured report with inline citations - not a wall of links. The feature pulls from live web data and can connect to your Google Workspace or MCP-integrated business tools (Asana, Intercom, etc.) automatically once configured.

The most effective use cases reserve Research for time-sensitive questions where freshness and source diversity matter: regulatory tracking, competitive moves, industry consensus shifts, or market trends. For evergreen knowledge synthesis from your own documents, use Projects or regular Claude chat instead - Research uses more tokens and works best on questions requiring current information.

One practical workflow: upload a company report to a Project, use standard Claude chat to summarize it, then toggle Research on to find recent news that confirms or contradicts your findings. This two-pass approach saves tokens while ensuring your synthesis doesn't miss critical recent developments. Research Mode requires a Pro ($20/mo), Max, Team, or Enterprise plan.