OpenAI vs Grok 3: Which is Better for Deep Research?

4 min read

OpenAI has rolled out the Deep Research feature to all ChatGPT Plus subscribers; previously, it was available only to $200 Pro subscribers. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has made Grok 3, including its DeepSearch feature, free for all X users. This raises the question: is it worth investing $20 in a ChatGPT subscription, or can Grok 3 handle the same tasks for free? Let’s compare OpenAI’s Deep Research with Grok 3’s DeepSearch capabilities and find out!

How to Access Deep Reseach on OpenAI and Grok 3?

For OpenAI

1. Go to ChatGPT website
2. Make sure you have the $20 Plus subscription.
3. Find the Deep Research option in the new chat window.

👁 OpenAI Deep Research

For Grok 3

1. Make sure you have an account on X
2. Select the Grok tab from the left side bar.
3. Select the DeepSearch buttton and start asking your questions!

Now, let’s start comapring ChatGPT and Grok 3 for Deep Research!

Task 1: SEO Analysis

Prompt: “Give me strategies to improve traffic on Analytics Vidhya Blog -www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/“

OpenAI Deep Research:

Before starting the analysis, chatGPT asked me about my prefernces, what am I looking for to understand my prompt better.

👁 OpenAI vs Grok 3 Deep Research

My Reply: “I am focusing on organic traffic growth through SEO and content creation. My target audience includes GenAI and Data Science professionals and enthusiasts. The main challenges I face are providing a comprehensive overview of AI, over-reliance on Google for traffic, and potential loss of search engine rankings on Google.”

Grok 3:

Observation

Grok 3 responded in just 47 seconds, which seems too quick for a deep research tool. The analysis provided was not only generic but also lacked meaningful insights that I could use. I couldn’t find anything truly helpful from Grok 3’s analysis.

In contrast, OpenAI’s Deep Research took a more reasonable amount of time ~ 10 minutes to compile its report. It even asked me to specify what I was looking for in the analysis to streamline the output. The result was a detailed and insightful report that included graphs, citations, and actionable information. I was very impressed with the response!

Verdict:

Grok 3 ❌ | OpenAI ✅

Task 2: Generative AI Salary Report

Prompt: “I want to write a report on Salaries in Generative AI Domain. I want breakdown – country-wise, work experience, skills, and even industries.“

OpenAI Deep Research:

ChatGPT asked me about my prefernces again to understand my prompt better!

👁 OpenAI vs Grok 3 Deep Research

My Reply: “Countries: Global; Experience Levels: All; Skills: All; Industry: All; Sources: All available sources. Add graphs where necessary.”

Grok 3 DeepSearch:

Observation

OpenAI provides a significantly more comprehensive analysis with:

• Detailed country-wise salary comparisons for multiple regions (US, UK, Western Europe, India, China, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Israel)
• In-depth cost-of-living adjustments and regional variations within countries
• Thorough experience-based salary breakdowns with specific figures
• Specialized skill-specific salary insights (NLP, prompt engineering, reinforcement learning, AI ethics)
• Detailed industry-wise salary trends across tech, finance, healthcare, startups, and academia
• Numerous citations to specific sources
• Helpful visualization suggestions and key takeaways

Grok 3 is more concise but less comprehensive:

• Covers fewer countries (US, India, Germany, Netherlands, UK)
• Provides less detailed experience-based salary information
• Offers more limited skills and industry analysis
• Contains fewer specific examples and less contextual information
• Has a simpler structure with brief citations

OpenAI did significantly better at fulfilling your requirements. It provides much more comprehensive data across all the dimensions you requested (countries, experience levels, skills, industries), includes more specific salary figures with context, and offers deeper analysis of trends and factors affecting compensation. The information is also better organized with clear sections and helpful comparisons that would make for a more informative and valuable report.

Verdict:

Grok 3 ❌ | OpenAI ✅

Related Blogs

• Perplexity Deep Research
• OpenAI vs Google: Who Does Deep Research Better?
• Build a Deep Research Agent

End Note

When it comes to AI research tools, depth and precision often make the difference. While OpenAI’s Deep Research delivers structured, insightful, and well-supported analyses, Grok 3’s DeepSearch struggles to match its comprehensiveness. The contrast in performance highlights a crucial consideration for users—free access to AI tools is appealing, but when it comes to serious research and in-depth analysis, the investment in a premium tool may be justified.

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