OpenAI expands API access to deep research models

OpenAI is opening up API access to its deep research models, giving developers tools like automated web search, data analysis, MCP, and code execution. The deep research versions of o3 and o4-mini, already used in ChatGPT, are now available through the API for tasks that require up-to-date information and advanced reasoning. Web search is also supported by models like o3, o3-pro, and o4-mini. Pricing starts at $10 per 1,000 calls for reasoning web search, while the price for GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 web search has dropped to $25 per 1,000 calls.

Another addition is webhooks, which automatically notify developers when a task is complete, so there’s no need to keep checking the status. OpenAI suggests using webhooks for longer-running jobs like deep research, since they can improve reliability.