Deep research and fair AI comparisons
After this you'll be able to:
- write a brief that gets a usable research report
- check citations quickly
- compare two AIs without fooling yourself
When deep research is worth it
Deep research reads many web pages and writes a cited report. It takes minutes and uses more of your limit, so save it for questions with many sources, not quick facts. Gemini includes Deep Research on its free plan 1, Claude's Research is on Pro and up 2, and ChatGPT limits deep research on Free and Go. 3
Brief it like a researcher
Say the decision you're making, where you are, the time period, the sources to trust, and the shape of the report.
Prompt: research brief
I need to decide [decision]. I'm in [city, country].
Research [question] using only sources from the last 12 months. Prefer government, company and peer-reviewed sources.
Give me: a 5-line summary, a comparison table, the 3 biggest unknowns, and links for every claim.
Research [question] using only sources from the last 12 months. Prefer government, company and peer-reviewed sources.
Give me: a 5-line summary, a comparison table, the 3 biggest unknowns, and links for every claim.
Check the sources
Open at least three links. Check the page says what the report claims, and check the date. Reports can cite real pages for things those pages don't say.
Prompt: citation check
For each claim in your report, quote the exact sentence from the source that supports it. Mark any claim where the source doesn't say it directly.
Compare two AIs fairly
Longer answers look better than they are, so judge blind and on your own tasks.
How do I run a fair comparison?
- Same prompt, fresh chat, same files.
- Hide the names before you judge, or ask a friend to.
- Score on your criteria (correct, useful, clear), not on length.
- Try three real tasks, not one.
Next topic: Make your plan go further