Research

What it is

Documentation update — 7 October 2026. In the unified experience, web search is automatic with no toggle. Start Research with /deep-research or + → Research. The toggle instructions below apply to the older interface.

Research is Claude working agentically on a question. Rather than answering once, it runs a chain of searches that build on each other — across the open web and any internal context you’ve connected, such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs — and comes back in minutes with a thorough, cited report.

Use it when one question really has ten underneath it: competitor analysis, refreshing a stale document, planning an offsite, sizing up a market.

Where to find it

The Research entry is visible in the unified + menu on both platforms.

On desktop

Composer → + → Research, or type /deep-research. Research and Memory are both present; Web search has no separate entry in the inspected unified menu.

Research needs a paid plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise.

On the web

The same + → Research entry appears on claude.ai.

How to use it

The Research control was inspected without starting a research run.

Start from the unified composer. On older accounts that retain a Web search toggle, the Research guide says it must be on.
Choose + → Research or use /deep-research.
Ask your question. Claude starts the run, pulling from the web and any connected integrations.
Wait a few minutes. You’ll see progress as it works.
The report arrives with citations you can click to check.

Steering a run

If Research doesn’t kick in, ask for it directly: “please use the Research tool to…”.
To pull from a particular internal source: “pull relevant context from Google Drive / Gmail / Calendar”.

Good to know

Web search has to be on. Anthropic states this as a requirement, not a recommendation.
Same limits, faster burn. Anthropic’s article says Research is subject to the same limits as a standard conversation, but that a run “can use up your limits faster due to Claude retrieving multiple sources and providing comprehensive responses.”
Connectors widen the net. With Gmail, Calendar or Google Docs connected, Research can fold your own context into the report.
It’s on mobile too — web, Claude Desktop and Claude Mobile all have it.

What’s changed recently

2026-09-13 — Research is a tick-box in the composer’s + menu, not a dedicated button at the bottom left of the composer. It’s absent from the Cowork-mode menu on both platforms. Verified on desktop build 1.52386.3.
2026-09-13 — Dropped the claim that turning Research on also turns extended thinking on. No Anthropic article says so, and it can’t be checked from the interface.
2026-04-18 — Page created from the official help-centre article.