Unlock the Power of Google's Gemini with Deep Research

How Deep Research Works

When a user poses a question, Deep Research creates a "multi-step research plan" that the user can either revise or approve. Once approved, Deep Research refines its analysis over a few minutes. It searches for potentially interesting information, saves it, and then initiates new searches based on what it has learned. This process repeats multiple times until a report of key findings is generated. Initially, Deep Research is only available in English on desktop and the mobile web, with plans to expand to Gemini mobile apps in early 2025. Users can access it by selecting the "Gemini 1.5 Pro with Deep Research" option in the model's drop-down menu.

For example, imagine a student working on a research project. By using Deep Research, they can get a detailed research plan and quickly gather relevant information from across the web. This saves them a lot of time and effort compared to traditional research methods. It acts as a valuable tool to assist in the research process and help students achieve better results.

Potential Harms and Ethical Considerations

While Deep Research is an impressive feat, it also raises several ethical questions. Just like all AI, it makes mistakes and can hallucinate. This can have serious consequences, especially in education. As Jessica Grose pointed out in a recent op-ed in The New York Times, students are increasingly relying on generative AI to outsource brainstorming and writing. This risks them losing the ability to think critically and overcome frustration with difficult tasks.

There is also a potential financial impact on publishers. By scraping information from websites and compiling it into briefs, Deep Research could deprive these sites of valuable ad revenue. One study has shown that since the launch of AI Overviews, publishers have seen a 5% to 10% decrease in traffic from search. An expert estimated that AI-generated overviews could lead to more than $2 billion in losses for publishers.

However, Google claims that Deep Research can "connect users to relevant websites they might not have found otherwise so they can dive deeper to learn more." It remains to be seen whether this promise will be fulfilled and if the feature will truly enhance the user's research experience without causing harm to publishers.

Gemini 2.0 Flash: The New Flagship AI Model

Starting today, both free and paying Gemini users will have access to Gemini 2.0 Flash, Google's newest flagship AI model. This is an experimental version optimized for chat, with the full version set to arrive in January. Google claims that 2.0 Flash should deliver better performance across various tasks and faster responses. Users can select it from the Gemini model drop-down on desktop and the mobile web (but not the mobile apps yet).

Although the company cautions that some Gemini features may not be compatible with the experimental model, it still offers exciting possibilities. For instance, in a chat-based scenario, users can expect quicker responses and more accurate answers. This could lead to a more seamless and efficient user experience.