When Google debuted Gemini 1.5 Pro in February, the company touted the model’s ability to reason through what it called “long context windows.” It said, for example, the algorithm could provide details about a 402-page Apollo 11 mission transcript. Now, Google is giving people a practical way to take advantage of those capabilities with a tool called Deep Research. Starting today, Gemini Advanced users can use Deep Research to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics.
Aarush Selvan, a senior product manager on the Gemini team, gave Tech Reader a preview of the tool. At first glance, it looks to work like any other AI chatbot. All interactions start with a prompt. In the demo I saw, Selvan asked Gemini to help him find scholarship programs for students who want to enter public service after school. But things diverge from there. Before answering a query, Gemini first produces a multi-step research plan for the user to approve.
For example, say you want Gemini to provide you with a report on heat pumps. In the planning stage, you could tell the AI agent to prioritize information on government rebates and subsidies or omit those details altogether. Once you give Gemini the go-ahead, it will then scour the open web for information related to your query. This process can take a few minutes. In user testing, Selvan said Google found most people were happy to wait for Gemini to do its thing since the reports the agent produces through Deep Research are so detailed.
In the example of the scholarship question, the tool produced a multi-page report complete with charts. Throughout, there were citations with links to all of the sources Gemini used. I didn’t get a chance to read over the reports in detail, but they appeared to be more accurate than some of Google’s less helpful and flattering AI Overviews.
According to Selvan, Deep Research uses some of the same signals Google Search does to determine authority. That said, sourcing is definitely “a product of the query.” The more complicated a question you ask of the agent, the more likely it is to produce a useful answer since its research is bound to lead it to more authoritative sources. You can export a report to Google Docs once you’re happy with Gemini’s work.
If you want to try Deep Research for yourself, you’ll need to sign up for Google’s One AI Premium Plan, which includes access to Gemini Advanced. The plan costs $20 per month following a one-month free trial. It’s also only available in English at the moment.
