OpenAI is rolling out a new lightweight version of its deep research tool for ChatGPT Plus. The tool is available to Team and Pro users as well—and it’s also coming to free-tier users starting today.
This streamlined feature is powered by OpenAI’s o4-mini model. While it’s not as advanced as the full research version, it still delivers detailed insights. More importantly, it’s cheaper to operate, allowing OpenAI to raise usage limits across the board.
According to the company, responses will be shorter but will maintain strong quality and depth. Once users hit the limit for full deep research, ChatGPT will switch automatically to this lightweight version.
OpenAI describes the tool as nearly as intelligent as the original. The difference? It’s faster and more efficient to serve.
This update arrives as AI tools race to improve research capabilities. Competitors like Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and xAI’s Grok are all pushing similar features. These systems rely on reasoning models—designed to think through problems and even fact-check themselves.
ChatGPT’s lightweight research tool will also roll out to enterprise and education users next week. These accounts will get the same usage limits as Team users.
By making deep AI reasoning tools more accessible and affordable, OpenAI is aiming to keep its edge in a fast-moving space.
