How does Deep Research work in ZeroTwo?

Deep Research is a ZeroTwo plugin for questions that need many sources. ZeroTwo first drafts a research plan for you to review. Only after you approve it does ZeroTwo search, read, and write up the findings, with cited sources, as a document, PDF, slide deck, spreadsheet, or site.

Start a Deep Research run

These steps are for the web and desktop apps.

1. Check that the Deep Research plugin is installed and enabled. Choose Customize in the left rail, then Plugins, and install Deep Research there if it is not already installed.
2. In the message box, type /deep-research as its own word and say what you want to find out, for example /deep-research Compare three note-taking apps.
3. Send the message.

How a run works

1. Questions. ZeroTwo may begin by asking about your question, your audience, the scope, and the output you want, such as a document, PDF, slide deck, spreadsheet, or site. If your request already answers these, it can skip the questions.
2. Plan. ZeroTwo splits the work into two to eight research units and shows the plan in a Review research plan card above the message box. Before the plan is ready, it makes only a few quick lookups to shape it.
3. Your decision. Select Approve and start research to go ahead. To change the plan, type your changes in the message box and send them, or select Edit, change the plan text yourself, and select Revise plan. Select Preview to return to the formatted view.
4. Research. After approval, ZeroTwo creates a checklist with one item per unit and works through it, searching and reading sources and checking the important claims.
5. Delivery. ZeroTwo attaches the finished files to its reply with a short summary of the findings and their limits. If it cannot create or deliver a file, it posts the full cited report in the chat and says what it could not deliver.

While a plan is waiting, text you send from the message box is treated as a request for changes, and sending an empty message box approves the plan. After a revision request, ZeroTwo sends back a complete new plan for your approval.

What the report contains

The report takes the output type you chose in the questions, and ZeroTwo is set up to cite its sources, with links where a source has one:

• Documents and PDFs use numbered footnotes plus a Sources section at the end.
• Slide decks end with a dedicated Sources slide.
• Spreadsheets include a dedicated Sources tab.

To shape the research, name your constraints up front. If you attach files, ZeroTwo reads them first. If you say which sources it may use, such as one publisher or domain, ZeroTwo follows that restriction.

Plans, credits, and limits

• Deep research draws from your credit balance, the same balance that pays for other metered tools.
• The Plus plan lists 150 deep researches / month (uses credits). A run counts toward that total when you approve the plan, not when you send your first message, and revising a plan does not use up an additional run. Once all 150 are used, a new run does not start: the message returned is "Monthly limit reached. You've used all 150 deep researches this month."
• The Pro, Pro 2×, Ultra, and Ultra 2× plan cards list deep research as a feature, and the Business card lists it too. The 150-per-month cap applies to Plus only.

For how credits are earned, spent, and topped up, see How do credits work in ZeroTwo?