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How to Configure Search Depth, Source Filters, and Recency in an AI Research Agent

Search depth, source filters, and recency are integration-specific. Here’s how to choose the documented controls for OpenAI’s APIs and Deep Research.
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There is no single search-depth or recency setting shared by AI research agents. Start by identifying the product or API you are using, then configure three separate things: how much research the agent does, which sources it can use, and whether it retrieves live or cached information. The available controls differ across the Responses API, Agents API, Agents SDK, and ChatGPT Deep Research.

Identify the integration before changing settings

OpenAI’s tools documentation notes that tool availability, configuration, and call handling depend on the integration. A setting documented for one surface may not exist on another. The names below refer to the controls described in the current official documentation; check the linked reference for the integration and version you actually use.

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For the Responses API, see the web search guide. For the Agents API, see its web search guide. ChatGPT Deep Research is covered in OpenAI’s help article. For broader integration differences, consult the tools guide.

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Choose the surface-specific controls

Surface Search effort and context Source controls Freshness controls
Responses API web_search search_context_size controls how much search context is available before generation. Reasoning effort can affect agentic depth and latency. For search runs with GPT-5+ reasoning models, return_token_budget controls how much search-result content may be returned. filters can include allowed_domains and blocked_domains; the guide documents up to 100 domains in either list. The guide describes web search as access to up-to-date information, but does not establish a general date-window setting.
Agents API web_search context_size accepts low, medium, or high; omitted, it defaults to medium. Set allowed_domains to limit eligible domains; omit it for no domain filter. mode accepts live, cached, or disabled. If omitted, it defaults to live.
ChatGPT Deep Research Review and modify the proposed plan; research is agent-driven and extended. Restrict research to entered websites or domains, or prioritize those sites while still allowing broader web search. The help material does not establish an explicit date-window field.
Agents SDK Controls depend on the SDK and hosted-tool behavior; confirm the supported settings in the current SDK and underlying integration documentation. The SDK guide exposes web-search configuration such as allowed domains. Confirm the freshness controls for the particular SDK and underlying integration.

Set the amount of research to match the question

Use quick retrieval for a straightforward lookup

A direct, non-reasoning search is suited to a simple fact or lookup where the answer does not require comparing sources or synthesizing several parts. It can return information more quickly than a deeper agentic run, but may not do the extended source comparison a complex question needs.

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Use agentic or deep research for multi-part questions

Agentic search uses reasoning, and Deep Research supports extended, agent-driven research. These modes are more appropriate when a question needs source comparison, multiple steps, or synthesis. The Responses API guide cautions that deeper agentic research may increase latency; it does not provide a universal numerical search-depth scale.

Distinguish context from result budget

Context size and returned-token budget govern how much search material is available to the model; they do not certify that a source is reliable or current. In the Responses API, search_context_size controls available search context, while return_token_budget governs the amount of result content that may be returned in the specified GPT-5+ reasoning-model search runs. In the Agents API, choose low, medium, or high for context_size.

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Choose strict source restrictions or broader discovery

Use an allow-list when sources outside it must be excluded

On the Responses API, configure filters.allowed_domains; on the Agents API, use allowed_domains. These are appropriate when the agent should be limited to specified domains. A hard restriction can also exclude relevant information available elsewhere, so make the list broad enough for the question.

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Use a block-list to exclude domains on the Responses API

The Responses API guide documents filters.blocked_domains as an alternative source filter. Its domain filters support up to 100 domains in the allowed list or the blocked list.

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Prioritize rather than restrict in ChatGPT Deep Research

In ChatGPT Deep Research, you can enter sites or domains to restrict research to them, or prioritize them while allowing searches across the broader web. Prioritization preserves wider discovery; restriction gives tighter source boundaries. The proposed research plan can be reviewed and modified before the run.

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Set freshness without inventing a date cutoff

On the Agents API, the documented mode options are live, cached, and disabled; live is the default when the setting is omitted. This selects a search access mode, not a universal “published within the last N days” filter. The Responses API describes web search as providing access to up-to-date information, but its guide does not establish a shared date-range parameter. The ChatGPT Deep Research help material likewise does not specify an explicit date-window control.

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When a claim depends on being current, inspect the cited page and verify its publication or update date. A live search mode does not, by itself, show that every result is recent or that the source’s content has been updated lately.

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Configure and verify a research run

  1. Name the integration and outcome. Identify whether you are using the Responses API, Agents API, Agents SDK, or ChatGPT Deep Research. Define what the answer must establish before selecting settings.
  2. Decide how strict source control needs to be. Use an allow-list or restriction when sources outside selected domains are out of scope. Choose prioritization where available if those sources should lead but broader discovery should remain possible.
  3. Choose the effort level. Use direct retrieval for a simple lookup; select agentic or extended research when comparison and synthesis are necessary, allowing for potentially higher latency.
  4. Set the documented context or result budget. Adjust the context-size or returned-result controls available on your surface. Treat them as controls on the amount of material supplied, not as freshness or quality guarantees.
  5. Choose a freshness mode if supported. For the Agents API, select live, cached, or disabled according to the task. Do not substitute an assumed date cutoff for a setting the integration does not document.
  6. Inspect the sources and dates. The Responses API guide describes a sources field that can expose the full list of URLs consulted, often more extensively than inline citations. Check the relevant pages’ dates for volatile claims.
  7. Test with a representative question. Check that required domains appear, that broader sources remain available when desired, and that the result contains enough sourced context to answer the question.

What these controls do not establish

  • There is no documented universal numeric search_depth field shared across these products and APIs.
  • The documented live-search option is not a universal date-range filter.
  • More context or a larger result budget does not, on its own, establish source reliability, completeness, or recency.
  • The official documentation cited here does not provide comparable quality metrics for choosing one setting over another.

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