Executives at leading AI labs say that large language models like those from OpenAI and Big Tech firms risk becoming commoditized in 2025. Last week, Chinese AI firm DeepSeek released R1, a reasoning model that claims to be better and more cost-effective than OpenAI's o1 model.

OpenAI announced this week its AI research assistant, which it calls “ deep research .” Powered by OpenAI’s o3-mini model (which was trained to use trial and error to find answers to complex questions), deep research is one of OpenAI’s first attempts at a real “agent” that’s capable of following instructions and working on its own.

How it works: In response to a single query, such as “draw me up a competitive analysis between streaming platforms,” the tool, called Deep Research, will search the web, analyze the information it encounters, and compile a detailed report which cites its sources.