OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT feature called "Deep Research" on Monday, ahead of high-level meetings in Tokyo, as competition in the artificial intelligence sector intensifies with China's DeepSeek chatbot gaining attention.

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The company stated that the new tool significantly reduces the time required for research and analysis. "Deep Research is OpenAI's next agent that can do work independently—you provide a prompt, and ChatGPT will search, analyse, and synthesise information from hundreds of online sources to generate a comprehensive report at the level of a research analyst," OpenAI said in a statement.

During a live demonstration, OpenAI researchers illustrated how the tool could aggregate web search data to assist users in making well-informed purchasing decisions.

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The announcement coincides with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s visit to Tokyo, where he is scheduled to meet Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and SoftBank Group’s CEO Masayoshi Son.

SoftBank and OpenAI are both involved in the Stargate initiative, a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment drive in the United States  backed by the Trump administration.

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Altman's Japan Trip

Altman and Son will participate in a forum in Tokyo with around 500 businesses, where they are expected to outline plans to enhance Japan’s AI infrastructure. 

In an interview with Nikkei, Altman shared his vision for developing a new AI-powered hardware device in collaboration with Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer. However, he noted that a prototype would take several years to develop.

Also read: 'Apna time ayega': Ex-Shark Tank judge Anupam Mittal fires back at Sam Altman following DeepSeek's AI success

Altman also commented on DeepSeek’s growing presence, acknowledging it as a strong model but stating that its capabilities are not fundamentally new. DeepSeek’s emergence has led to speculation that it may have reverse-engineered key aspects of US-developed AI technology. 

Last week, OpenAI warned that Chinese firms are making efforts to replicate its advanced AI models, prompting increased collaboration between the company and US authorities.