/research — Research

Research the live web, with citations The /research command runs Krater's deep research agent. It plans sub questions around your topic, searches the web for each one, reads the most relevant pages...

Research the live web, with citations

The /research command runs Krater’s deep-research agent. It plans sub-questions around your topic, searches the web for each one, reads the most relevant pages, and hands you a written report with numbered, clickable sources — all inside your chat.

For quick lookups you do not need a command at all: when a normal chat question needs fresh information, the agent searches the web automatically for about 2 credits and answers with citations. Use /research when you want a real investigation, not a single search.

Cost: 13 credits standard depth (the estimate is upfront — any unused amount is refunded). A thorough depth is available for 21 credits. Research requires a paid plan (Pro, Ultra or Max) or a team seat.

How to Use

Type /research followed by your question:

/research What are the latest developments in quantum computing?

/research Compare pricing and features of the top 5 AI coding assistants

Ask for “thorough” or “deep” research in your prompt when the topic needs more coverage:

/research Run a thorough investigation of the GPU cloud market in 2026

Most runs finish in about two minutes.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

Plans — The agent breaks your question into several focused search queries.
Searches — Each query runs against the live web (up to 8 results per search).
Reads — It picks the most useful pages and reads their full content.
Follows up — Gaps in the evidence trigger extra searches.
Reports — Your chat model writes the answer with numbered citations to every source.

You can expand the “Worked for Xs” log during the run to see each search and read. Afterward, the Sources button on the answer opens the full citation list.

Depths

	Standard	Thorough
Search calls	5	8
Pages read	Up to 6	Up to 10
Cost	13 credits	21 credits
Best for	Most questions	Market maps, literature reviews, high-stakes checks

Costs are the upfront estimate; any unused reservation is refunded automatically.

Quick Search vs /research

	Quick web search (automatic)	`/research`
How it runs	The agent decides your question needs fresh info	You type `/research`
Searches	1	5–8, planned
Pages read	Snippets only	Up to 10 full pages
Cost	~2 credits	13–21 credits
Output	Short cited answer	Full cited report

Use Cases

Research:

Current events and news
Technical documentation
Academic topics
Industry trends

Fact-checking:

Verify claims and statistics
Find original sources
Cross-reference information

Discovery:

Find products and services
Compare options
Get recommendations

Learning:

Explore new topics
Get up-to-date information
Find tutorials and guides

Tips for Better Searches

Tip	Example
Be specific	“React 19 new features” vs “React”
Add context	“best laptop for video editing under $1500”
Use timeframes	“AI funding rounds Q3 2026”
State the output	“…as a comparison table with sources”

Limitations

Cannot access paywalled or login-required pages
May miss events from the last few hours
Results depend on publicly available information
A run is capped at about two minutes; very broad questions may come back partial

Follow-up Questions

After a report, you can keep asking in the same chat — the agent remembers the research context:

“Tell me more about the second point”
“What are the pros and cons?”
“Turn this into a table”

More in Slash Commands

See Krater pricing or contact support.