Run your first research task

Last updated: May 4, 2026

Run your first research task

This guide walks you through starting a Grep research task, choosing the right depth, and reviewing the finished answer.

Before you start

Make sure you have enough credits or wallet balance for the task you want to run. You can check your balance from Settings → Billing.

Step 1: Ask a clear research question

Start with a specific question or instruction. Grep works best when you include the target topic, desired output, and any constraints.

Good examples:

  • “Compare the top five vendors for fraud detection in fintech, with pricing and customer examples.”
  • “Research recent regulatory updates affecting stablecoin issuers in the United States.”
  • “Create a market map for AI voice agents serving healthcare providers.”

Less effective examples:

  • “Tell me about AI.”
  • “Research competitors.”
  • “Find everything about this company.”

Step 2: Choose a research depth

Choose the depth that matches how much detail you need.

Depth Best for Starting reservation
Low effort Quick facts, simple summaries, narrow questions 2 credits or 0.40 USD
Deep Standard business research, comparisons, diligence 20 credits or 4.00 USD
Ultra deep Complex investigations, broad markets, high-stakes decisions 100 credits or 20.00 USD

If you are unsure, start with Deep. It is the best default for most professional research.

Step 3: Run the task

Click Run to start the task. Grep will show progress while it searches, reads sources, and builds the answer.

You can leave the page and return later. The task continues running in the background, and the result appears in your workspace when complete.

Step 4: Review the answer

When the task finishes, review:

  • Summary: the main answer or recommendation.
  • Key findings: the most important details Grep found.
  • Sources: the pages, documents, or references used.
  • Citations: links from specific claims back to supporting material.

Use the sources panel to verify important claims before sharing the result with your team.

Step 5: Ask follow-up questions

If you need more detail, ask a follow-up question from the completed task. Follow-ups are useful when you want Grep to expand, compare, rewrite, or investigate a specific part of the result.

Examples:

  • “Turn this into a table with pricing, target customer, and proof points.”
  • “Go deeper on companies founded after 2022.”
  • “Summarize only the risks and open questions.”

Tips for better results

  • Include the audience for the final answer.
  • Mention your preferred format, such as table, memo, slide outline, or bullet summary.
  • Add any companies, regions, dates, or sources Grep should prioritize.
  • Use Ultra deep for broad or ambiguous topics where missing context would matter.

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