Research

What it is

Research is Claude working agentically on a question. Instead of answering once, Claude runs a chain of searches that build on each other — pulling from the open web and any connected internal sources (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs) — and comes back a few minutes later with a thorough, cited report.

Use it when a single question really has ten underneath it: competitor analysis, updating a stale doc, planning an offsite, digging into a market.

Where to find it

On desktop

The Research button sits at the bottom-left of the composer. White = off, blue = on.
Available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

On the web

Same Research button in the composer on claude.ai.

How to use it

Make sure web search is on — Research requires it.
Click the Research button so it turns blue.
Ask your question. Claude kicks off the run, pulling from the web and any connected integrations.
Wait a minute or three. You’ll see progress as it works.
Claude delivers the report with citations you can click to verify.

Steering Research

If Research doesn’t kick in, prompt explicitly: “Claude, please use the Research tool to…”
To pull from a specific internal source: “Pull relevant context from [Google Drive / Gmail / Calendar].”

Good to know

Web search must be on. Research won’t run without it.
Extended thinking is automatic. Enabling Research turns on extended thinking too — the two work best together.
Same limits, faster burn. Research counts against your normal usage, but a single run retrieves many sources, so it eats into your cap quicker than a normal chat.
Connectors expand scope. If you’ve connected Gmail, Calendar, or Google Docs, Research can fold your own context into the report.

What’s changed recently

2026-04-18 — Page created from official help-center article.