When to Use Research

Understanding when to use Research versus other Claude capabilities helps you get the best results for your specific needs.

Use Research when you need:

• Comprehensive reports that synthesize information from multiple sources
• In-depth analysis across the web and your connected integrations (like Google Workspace)
• Thorough investigations that would typically require hours of manual work
• Comparative analysis, such as evaluating competitors or vendor options
• Reports with citations you can verify

Research is ideal for tasks like:

• Market analysis and competitive research
• Planning complex projects, like team offsites or product launches
• Synthesizing information from your email, calendar, and documents
• Creating technical documentation that draws from multiple sources
• Preparing briefings that require current, verified information

Consider web search instead when:

• You need a quick, specific fact (like today's stock price or a company's address)
• The answer requires only one or two sources
• Speed matters more than comprehensiveness

Consider turning on Thinking instead when:

• You need deep reasoning on a complex problem that doesn't require external information
• You're working on mathematical problems, code debugging, or logical analysis
• The answer comes from reasoning through a problem rather than gathering information

Consider enterprise search instead when:

• You need answers that draw from your organization's internal knowledge — documents, Slack threads, emails, meeting notes
• You're onboarding and want to quickly find how your company handles something (like policies, processes, or past decisions)
• You're asking a question that's specific to your company, not the public web

How Research Works

When you enable Research, you're activating an agentic, multi-step process that goes far beyond a simple web search. Claude autonomously decides what to search next based on what it has already found, pursuing leads and filling gaps without you needing to direct each step.

1. Step 1: Claude plans its approach. Claude thinks through its approach before it searches: it breaks down your request, identifies what information it needs, and plans how to investigate the different angles of your question.
2. Step 2: Claude conducts multiple searches. Rather than running a single search, Claude conducts many searches that build on each other. It determines what to investigate next based on what it finds, pursuing promising leads and filling in gaps.
3. Step 3: Claude synthesizes findings. After gathering information from multiple sources—including the web and any connected integrations like Gmail, Google Calendar, or Google Drive—Claude compiles everything into a comprehensive, well-organized report.
4. Step 4: Claude provides citations. Every claim in Research reports links back to its source, making it easy to verify information and dig deeper when needed.

Using Research in Practice

Here's how to enable and use Research:

1. Click the + button on the bottom left of your chat interface
2. Select Research from the menu—it appears highlighted once active
3. Enter your prompt and submit
4. Claude will work in the background, and you'll see progress indicators as it searches and analyzes

Important: Web search must be enabled for Research to function. If you haven't already turned on web search, you can do so from the same + menu.

Tips for Effective Research Prompts

Since a Research run takes minutes rather than seconds, investing time in crafting your prompt pays off. Here are some strategies:

• Be specific about your goals. Instead of "Tell me about the EV market," try "Analyze the electric vehicle battery market—identify key players, technology trends, and supply chain challenges that might affect investment decisions."
• Specify the sections or structure you want. Claude will organize its findings around the structure you provide. For example: "Compare venue options for a team offsite including: location and accessibility, meeting space and amenities, catering options, and pricing considerations."
• Include relevant constraints. Budget ranges, timelines, geographic requirements, and other parameters help Claude focus its research on relevant options.
• Ask Claude to help refine your prompt. If you're not sure how to frame your research question, you can even ask Claude to help you write a better Research prompt before enabling the feature.

Working with Connected Integrations

When you have Google Workspace or other integrations connected, Research becomes even more powerful. Claude can pull context from your emails, calendar, and documents alongside web research.

For example, you might ask Claude to:

• "Summarize what's been discussed about Project X across my emails and Slack, then research industry best practices for similar initiatives"
• "Review my calendar commitments for next week and research each company I'm meeting with"
• "Find all internal documents about our pricing strategy and compare to how competitors are positioning themselves"

When using Research with integrations, you can steer Claude by saying things like "Pull relevant context from my Google Drive" or "Include insights from my recent emails on this topic."

Lesson Reflection

Before moving on, consider:

• What research tasks in your work typically require gathering information from multiple sources?
• How might combining Research with your connected integrations (like Google Workspace) change your workflow?
• What's a complex question you've been putting off because it would take too much research time?

What's Next

In the next section we're putting it all together. You'll see how everything you've learned comes together through real-world use cases organized by role, and discover additional ways to interact with Claude beyond the web interface.