Deep Research

Overview

Deep Research is GeminiPaper's most powerful AI feature, combining web search with your paper library to answer complex research questions. Unlike simple Q&A, Deep Research conducts multi-step investigations, gathering information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive, cited reports.

What is Deep Research?

Deep Research uses advanced AI to:

• Plan research strategies - Break down complex questions into searchable queries
• Search the web - Find relevant information from academic sources and websites
• Analyze your papers - Pull insights from your personal paper library
• Synthesize findings - Combine information into coherent, cited reports
• Provide references - Include citations for every claim

Think of it as having a research assistant that can search the internet and your library simultaneously, then write a comprehensive report with proper citations.

When to Use Deep Research

Ideal Use Cases

Literature Reviews

• "What are the latest advances in transformer architectures?"
• "Summarize the current state of research on climate change mitigation"

Comparative Analysis

• "Compare different approaches to few-shot learning"
• "What are the pros and cons of various COVID-19 vaccines?"

Background Research

• "What is the history of CRISPR gene editing?"
• "Explain the theoretical foundations of quantum computing"

Trend Analysis

• "What are emerging trends in renewable energy?"
• "How has deep learning evolved in the past 5 years?"

Gap Identification

• "What are the open problems in natural language processing?"
• "What research gaps exist in cancer immunotherapy?"

When to Use Other Features Instead

• Simple factual questions → Use Ask Paper or Ask Knowledge Base
• Paper-specific questions → Use Chat with Paper
• Quick summaries → Use Paper Overview or Audio Overview
• Concept explanations → Use Understand feature

How to Use Deep Research

Starting a Research Session

1. Navigate to Deep Research from the sidebar
2. Enter your research question in the input field
3. Click Start Research or press Enter
4. Wait while AI processes your request (typically 1-3 minutes)

Research Phases

Deep Research works in multiple phases:

1. Research Planning

AI analyzes your question and plans the research strategy:

• Identifies key concepts to investigate
• Generates search queries
• Determines information needs

What you'll see: "Planning research strategy..."

2. Web Research

AI searches the web for relevant information:

• Queries academic databases
• Searches reputable sources
• Collects relevant articles and papers

What you'll see: "Searching the web..." with search queries displayed

3. Paper Library Analysis

AI searches your personal paper library:

• Finds relevant papers you've uploaded
• Extracts pertinent information
• Identifies connections to your research

What you'll see: "Analyzing your papers..."

4. Report Generation

AI synthesizes findings into a comprehensive report:

• Organizes information logically
• Adds citations for all claims
• Highlights key insights

What you'll see: "Generating report..." with streaming text

Understanding the Results

Report Structure

A typical Deep Research report includes:

Introduction

• Overview of the research question
• Scope and approach

Main Findings

• Key information organized by theme
• Multiple perspectives when relevant
• Supporting evidence with citations

Web Sources

• Links to external articles and papers
• Brief descriptions of each source
• Relevance to your question

Paper Sources

• Papers from your library that are relevant
• Specific sections or findings referenced
• How they relate to the research question

Conclusion

• Summary of main insights
• Limitations or gaps identified
• Suggestions for further research

Citations and References

Every claim in the report includes citations:

Web Citations: [1], [2], etc.

• Click to view the source website
• See title and URL
• Verify the information

Paper Citations: Links to papers in your library

• Click to open the paper
• Jump to relevant sections
• Review the original context

Advanced Features

Refining Your Questions

For best results, make your questions:

Specific

• ❌ "Tell me about AI"
• ✅ "What are the main challenges in deploying large language models in production?"

Focused

• ❌ "Everything about climate change"
• ✅ "What are the most promising carbon capture technologies as of 2024?"

Actionable

• ❌ "Is machine learning good?"
• ✅ "What are the advantages and limitations of using machine learning for medical diagnosis?"

Follow-up Questions

After receiving a report, you can:

1. Ask for clarification

   • "Can you explain the third point in more detail?"
   • "What did you mean by [specific term]?"

2. Request deeper analysis

   • "Focus more on the methodology aspects"
   • "What are the criticisms of this approach?"

3. Explore related topics

   • "How does this relate to [related topic]?"
   • "What are the practical applications?"

Using Research History

Access previous research sessions:

1. Click History in the Deep Research page
2. Browse past research questions
3. Click any session to view the full report
4. Continue the conversation with follow-up questions

Tip: Research history is saved indefinitely, making it easy to reference past investigations.

Integration with Your Library

How Deep Research Uses Your Papers

When you ask a research question, Deep Research:

1. Searches your library for relevant papers
2. Extracts key information from matching papers
3. Includes paper insights in the final report
4. Cites your papers alongside web sources

Maximizing Library Integration

Upload relevant papers first

• Add papers related to your research area
• Include foundational papers and recent studies
• Organize papers by project or topic

Use descriptive metadata

• Ensure papers have accurate titles and abstracts
• Add keywords and tags
• Complete metadata extraction

Ask library-aware questions

• "Based on my papers, what are the main trends in [topic]?"
• "How do my papers relate to [new development]?"
• "What gaps exist in my current paper collection?"

Best Practices

Crafting Effective Questions

Be Clear and Specific

❌ "Machine learning"
✅ "What are the key differences between supervised and unsupervised learning approaches in medical image analysis?"

Provide Context

❌ "Latest research"
✅ "What are the latest research findings on mRNA vaccine technology published in 2024?"

Ask One Thing at a Time

❌ "Tell me about quantum computing, its applications, history, and future"
✅ "What are the current practical applications of quantum computing in cryptography?"

Verifying Results

Always verify Deep Research findings:

1. Check citations - Click through to source materials
2. Cross-reference - Compare with your own papers
3. Assess recency - Note publication dates
4. Evaluate sources - Consider source credibility
5. Read originals - Review key papers yourself

Remember: Deep Research is a starting point, not a replacement for critical analysis.

Optimizing Performance

For faster results:

• Ask focused questions
• Limit scope to specific aspects
• Use clear, concise language

For comprehensive results:

• Ask broad, open-ended questions
• Request multiple perspectives
• Follow up with clarifying questions

Usage Limits and Credits

Deep Research consumes AI credits based on your plan:

Note: Complex questions that require extensive web search may consume more credits.

View your usage in Settings → Billing → Usage Statistics.

Privacy and Data

What Deep Research Accesses

Your Data:

• Papers in your library
• Paper metadata and content
• Your research questions

External Data:

• Public web sources
• Academic databases
• Open access papers

Data Privacy

• Your questions are encrypted in transit
• Research reports are private to your account
• Your papers are never shared externally
• Web searches are anonymized
• See our Privacy Policy for details

Troubleshooting

Research Taking Too Long

Issue: Deep Research not completing

Solutions:

• Complex questions take 2-5 minutes
• Check your internet connection
• Try simplifying your question
• Refresh the page if stuck

Incomplete or Irrelevant Results

Issue: Report doesn't answer your question

Solutions:

• Rephrase your question more specifically
• Add context or constraints
• Break complex questions into parts
• Try follow-up questions to refine

No Paper Sources Included

Issue: Report only shows web sources

Solutions:

• Ensure you have relevant papers uploaded
• Check that paper metadata is extracted
• Make your question more specific to your research area
• Upload more papers in the relevant domain

Credit Limit Reached

Issue: Can't start new research

Solutions:

• Check your remaining credits in Settings
• Wait for monthly credit reset
• Upgrade to a higher plan
• Use Ask Knowledge Base for simpler questions

Comparison with Other Features

Tips for Success

1. Start broad, then narrow - Begin with overview questions, then drill into specifics
2. Use follow-ups - Build on previous reports with clarifying questions
3. Combine with reading - Use Deep Research to guide which papers to read in detail
4. Save important reports - Bookmark or export valuable research sessions
5. Verify citations - Always check sources for critical research
6. Update your library - Add papers mentioned in reports to your library
7. Ask for comparisons - Request side-by-side analysis of different approaches
8. Request summaries - Ask for executive summaries of complex topics

Example Research Questions

Computer Science

• "What are the main approaches to explainable AI, and what are their trade-offs?"
• "How has the architecture of large language models evolved from GPT-2 to GPT-4?"
• "What are the current challenges in federated learning for privacy-preserving ML?"

Medicine & Biology

• "What are the mechanisms of action for different classes of immunotherapy drugs?"
• "Compare the efficacy and safety profiles of different COVID-19 vaccines"
• "What are the latest findings on the gut-brain axis in neurological disorders?"

Physics & Engineering

• "What are the main obstacles to achieving practical quantum computing?"
• "Compare different approaches to renewable energy storage"
• "What are the latest developments in room-temperature superconductors?"

Social Sciences

• "What are the psychological effects of social media use on adolescents?"
• "How do different countries approach climate change policy?"
• "What are the economic impacts of universal basic income trials?"

Next Steps

Explore related features to enhance your research workflow:

Feedback

Help us improve Deep Research:

• Rate research reports (👍 👎)
• Report inaccurate information
• Suggest new features
• Share successful use cases

Your feedback helps us make Deep Research better for everyone!