OpenAI Introduces Lightweight Version of Deep Research Tool
— OpenAI introduces a faster, cost-effective lightweight Deep Research tool powered by the o4-mini model.
OpenAI has launched a lightweight version of its Deep Research tool, aiming to deliver faster and more cost-effective results without compromising on depth and quality.
The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT announced that the tool is powered by its newly introduced o4-mini reasoning model. For OpenAI Pro subscribers, the tool will offer 250 Deep Research queries per day, while Team, Plus, Enterprise, and Edu users will have 25 queries daily. Free users will receive five queries per day.
OpenAI stated that the lightweight Deep Research tool will become available to Enterprise and educational users by the end of next week, maintaining the same access levels as Team users.
According to OpenAI, the lightweight version, despite being based on the o4-mini model, is nearly as intelligent as the original Deep Research tool but is significantly cheaper to operate. While the responses will generally be shorter, they are designed to retain the depth and quality that users expect.
Once users reach their query limits for the original Deep Research version, they will be automatically switched to the lightweight version.
What is Deep Research?
Deep Research originated as an AI agent first introduced by Google and later expanded by OpenAI with a more sophisticated version released in February 2025. Since its evolution, other companies have released similar tools under different names, including Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, and Copilot.
