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Home › Answers › Getting started with AI

Which AI is best for research?

Last checked: 18 October 2026 · The AI Till, UK

Short answer

For quick research with sources, Perplexity is the easiest. For longer reports, ChatGPT and Gemini both offer deep research that searches many sites and writes a cited summary. For research on your own documents, Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) answers only from the files you add. Always open the sources and check them.

Which tool for which job

JobToolWhy
Quick question with linksPerplexityFootnoted sources by default
Multi-page reportChatGPT or Gemini deep researchSearches widely and writes a structured report
Your own filesGemini NotebookAnswers grounded in your sources
Market or competitor researchChatGPT WorkRuns longer tasks and builds spreadsheets

How deep research works in ChatGPT

OpenAI's help page describes the steps:

  1. You describe the outcome you need.
  2. ChatGPT proposes a research plan, which you can edit before it starts.
  3. It searches the web and any files you upload, and you can interrupt to change the focus.
  4. You get a report with citations or source links, which you can download as Markdown, Word or PDF.

You can also limit research to specific websites, or tell it to prioritise them, under Sites, then Manage sites. For UK rules, restricting it to gov.uk is a sensible choice. Usage limits vary by plan.

How Gemini Notebook works

You add sources such as PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs or Google Slides. You then ask questions and get answers based on those sources, with in-line citations. Google says that if the answer isn't in your sources, Notebook may not be able to answer. That's useful: it's less likely to fill gaps with guesses from elsewhere. See how to use NotebookLM.

Checking AI research

AI research tools can misread sources or cite pages that don't say what they claim. Click through for any figure you'll rely on, prefer official sources such as GOV.UK and HMRC, and note the date. See what is an AI hallucination?

UK research tips

Ask for UK sources specifically ("use GOV.UK, HMRC and ONS where possible"). US rules on tax, employment and consumer law are different.

Worked example: taking on your first employee

Say you run a cleaning business in Leeds and you're thinking about hiring your first employee. A sensible research workflow:

  1. Quick scan in Perplexity. "What does a UK employer need to do before taking on their first employee? Use GOV.UK sources." You get a short list with links.
  2. Deeper report. Run ChatGPT deep research, restricted to gov.uk, asking for a checklist covering payroll, pensions, insurance and right to work, with a link for each point.
  3. Your own reference pack. Save the GOV.UK pages it cites into a Gemini Notebook. Later questions ("when do I need to enrol them in a pension?") get answered from those pages only.
  4. Check. Open every GOV.UK link for anything with a deadline, threshold or penalty, and note the date you checked.

The AI does the reading. You still make the decision, and an accountant or adviser is worth it for anything with money or legal risk attached.

Common mistakes

  • Trusting the footnote without clicking. A link next to a sentence doesn't prove the page says it.
  • Accepting US answers. Employment, tax and consumer rules often differ in the UK.
  • Ignoring dates. Thresholds and rates change, so check the "last updated" date on the source.
  • Uploading confidential files to a personal account. Check your settings first. See does NotebookLM store my data?
  • Using chat for live facts. Plain chat may not search the web unless asked. See does ChatGPT have up-to-date information?

What to check in any AI research

  • Is each claim linked to a source you've opened?
  • Is the source official or primary, not a blog quoting a blog?
  • Is it UK-specific and current?
  • Are numbers copied exactly, not rounded up?

Related questions

Which AI chatbot is best for research?

Perplexity for speed, deep research modes for depth. See ChatGPT vs Perplexity.

Is Perplexity free?

Yes, with limits. See how much is Perplexity Pro? and how to use Perplexity.

Does Gemini Notebook train on my files?

Google says your data isn't used to train Gemini Notebook unless you give feedback. For Google Workspace accounts, Google says uploads, questions and answers aren't reviewed by people or used to train AI models.

Can AI research use my own documents?

Yes. Gemini Notebook works only from what you add, and ChatGPT deep research can use files you upload alongside the web.

Sources

Checked 18 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

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