14 · research-agent · 07 systems # Research & analyst agentsPrompt in, cited report out. Research agents take a question and return a structured, cited report — searching, reading, and synthesizing dozens of sources over minutes-long runs. Consumer 'deep research' modes live inside chat products (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity); enterprise analysts work over licensed or internal corpora (Hebbia, AlphaSense); academic tools ground in the literature (Elicit). SEC.01 ## Systems in this category [ChatGPT Deep Research OpenAI · research-agent ChatGPT Deep Research is OpenAI's research-agent mode: a prompt becomes a 5–30 minute browsing run that returns a cited report — now also reachable via API as a deep-research model. chat/api · cloud · Included in ChatGPT tiers (query limits vary); API via deep-research models](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/deep-research) [Gemini Deep Research Google · research-agent Gemini Deep Research is Google's research-agent mode: it plans a multi-step search, fans out across the web, and delivers a structured report — with tight integration into Workspace docs and Drive. chat/api · cloud · Included in Google AI Pro/Ultra](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/gemini-deep-research) [Perplexity Perplexity · research-agent Perplexity is the answer-engine that grew into a research agent: Deep Research and Labs modes run multi-step searches, build reports, and even produce dashboards and mini-apps. chat/api · cloud · Free; Pro $20/mo; Max $200/mo](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/perplexity) [Genspark Genspark · research-agent Genspark is the all-in-one agent workspace from ex-Baidu leadership: Super Agent runs research and produces 'Sparkpages', slides, sheets, and calls — a research agent that finishes artifacts, not just text. chat/api · cloud · Free credits; Plus ~$25/mo — verify](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/genspark) [Hebbia (Matrix) Hebbia · research-agent Hebbia (Matrix) is the analyst agent for finance, legal, and consulting: it runs multi-step queries across thousands of internal documents — filings, contracts, transcripts — and returns structured, cited grids. chat/api · cloud · Enterprise (quote-based)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/hebbia) [Elicit Elicit · research-agent Elicit is the research agent for scientific literature: it searches 125M+ papers, extracts methods and findings into structured tables, and drafts systematic-review-grade summaries with citations. chat/api · cloud · Free; Plus ~$12/mo; Pro ~$49/mo — verify](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/elicit) [AlphaSense AlphaSense · research-agent AlphaSense is the institutional market-intelligence platform whose Deep Research agents search premium content — broker research, filings, transcripts, expert calls — and return decision-grade cited reports. chat/api · cloud · Enterprise (quote-based)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/alphasense) SEC.02 ## Who it's for Analysts, researchers, and knowledge workers who need a defensible first draft — market scans, literature reviews, diligence memos — faster than manual search-and-summarize. SEC.03 ## Tradeoffs Outputs read authoritative but still misquote sources and miss paywalled or niche material; citation quality varies widely; and the strongest enterprise tools are priced for institutions, not individuals. FAQ ## Frequently asked ### What is a research agent? Research agents take a question and return a structured, cited report — searching, reading, and synthesizing dozens of sources over minutes-long runs. Consumer 'deep research' modes live inside chat products (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity); enterprise analysts work over licensed or internal corpora (Hebbia, AlphaSense); academic tools ground in the literature (Elicit). ### Who should use a research agent? Analysts, researchers, and knowledge workers who need a defensible first draft — market scans, literature reviews, diligence memos — faster than manual search-and-summarize. ### What are the tradeoffs of research agents? Outputs read authoritative but still misquote sources and miss paywalled or niche material; citation quality varies widely; and the strongest enterprise tools are priced for institutions, not individuals. ### Which research agents are in the catalog? 7 as of 2026-09-25: ChatGPT Deep Research (OpenAI), Gemini Deep Research (Google), Perplexity (Perplexity), Genspark (Genspark), Hebbia (Matrix) (Hebbia), Elicit (Elicit), AlphaSense (AlphaSense). ### What is a deep research agent? An agent mode that turns a prompt into a long-running research job: it plans searches, reads pages and documents, cross-checks claims, and produces a report with citations. OpenAI's Deep Research (Feb 2025) set the template; Gemini and Perplexity ship equivalent modes. ### Consumer deep research vs enterprise analyst platforms? Consumer modes search the public web and return a report for a flat subscription. Enterprise platforms (Hebbia Matrix, AlphaSense) work over licensed datasets, filings, and internal repositories with audit controls — priced as contracts, aimed at finance, legal, and consulting workflows. ### Can you trust a research agent's citations? Treat them as a first draft, not a source of truth. Citations are usually real but not always attached to the right claim, and coverage skews to what's openly indexed. The durable value is speed and structure; verification stays on you. Other categories - [01AI IDEs06](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/ai-ide) - [02IDE extensions & copilots10](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/ide-extension) - [03CLI & terminal agents15](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/cli-agent) - [04Cloud & autonomous agents05](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/cloud-agent) - [05Platforms & harness multiplexers01](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/platform) - [06Model routers & gateways02](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/model-router) - [07Bridges, brokers & protocols02](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/bridge) - [08Agent communication & collaboration13](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/agent-communication) - [09Agent services15](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/agent-services) - [10Personal & always-on agents06](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/personal-agent) - [11AI employees & digital coworkers10](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/digital-employee) - [12On-call & ops agents07](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/ops-agent) - [13Browser & computer-use agents06](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/computer-use) - [15Voice & phone agents07](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/voice-agent) Examples: ChatGPT Deep Research · Gemini Deep Research · Perplexity · Genspark · Hebbia · Elicit · AlphaSense. Entries are editorial records from seed 2026-09-25, not endorsements. --- Source: [Research & analyst agents — 7 compared | agentlist.io](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/research-agent). This is the public page rendered as Markdown; interactive controls require the website.