We’ve all been there. It’s 10:00 PM, and you have a massive project due. You need a deep, data-backed report that doesn’t just skim the surface but actually understands the nuance of the topic.
Usually, this means three days of “tab hell”—opening 50 different Chrome tabs, cross-referencing PDFs, and trying to figure out if that one statistic from 2022 is still relevant. But the landscape of research just shifted.
With the release of Perplexity’s Deep Research mode, the “20-page report” is no longer a weekend-long ordeal. It’s a 10-minute workflow. Here is exactly how to pull it off without sacrificing quality or accuracy.
Why Standard AI Fails at “Deep” Research
Most people treat AI like a faster version of Google. They type in a prompt, get a 500-word summary, and call it a day. But if you’re trying to write a professional-grade report, standard LLMs (Large Language Models) have three fatal flaws:
- The “Hallucination” Trap: They often make up facts that sound incredibly convincing.
- Breadth over Depth: They give you the “Wikipedia version” of a topic rather than the “white paper” version.
- Outdated Data: Most models have a “knowledge cutoff,” meaning they don’t know what happened this morning.
Perplexity’s Deep Research mode is different because it doesn’t just “chat.” It reasons. It acts like a digital librarian who reads a hundred sources, checks them against each other, and organizes the findings before it ever starts writing.
Step 1: Set the Stage (The “Space” Strategy)
Before you type a single word, you need to give the AI a “brain.” In Perplexity, this is called a Space.
Think of a Space as a dedicated office for your project. You can set Custom Instructions that apply to everything you do within that folder. If you want a 20-page report, you need to tell the AI who it is and how it should think.
Pro Tip for Custom Instructions:
Instead of leaving it blank, use a prompt like this:
“You are a senior investigative journalist and data analyst. Always prioritize peer-reviewed journals, government reports, and financial filings. Use a professional, analytical tone. When possible, provide data in tables and compare conflicting viewpoints rather than just picking one.”
By doing this, you’ve already eliminated the “fluffy” AI tone that plagues most generated content.
Step 2: The “Multi-Pass” Prompt
The secret to a 20-page report isn’t one giant prompt; it’s a sequential deep-dive. However, with Deep Research mode enabled (usually a toggle in the search bar), Perplexity does the heavy lifting for you.
To get a massive output, you need a prompt that defines scope and structure.
The “Super Prompt” Example:
“Conduct a deep research analysis on the current state of Solid-State Battery technology (2024-2026). I need a comprehensive report covering:
- Technical hurdles in manufacturing.
- Competitive landscape (Toyota vs. QuantumScape vs. CATL).
- Recent breakthroughs in electrolyte stability.
- Project market adoption timelines through 2035. Perform at least 5 reasoning loops and cite every specific claim.”
What happens next?
You’ll see the AI start to “think.” It will perform dozens of searches, read through hundreds of pages of documentation, and—this is the magic part—it will ask you clarifying questions if it hits a fork in the road. It might ask, “Should I focus more on the automotive sector or consumer electronics?” Answer these. This is where the depth comes from.
Step 3: Turning “Findings” into Pages
Perplexity will return a massive, cited synthesis. But a 20-page report requires structure. This is where the Perplexity Pages feature comes in.
Once the research is finished, you can click “Generate Page.” This converts the raw data into a beautifully formatted, sectioned document. To hit that “20-page” depth, you use the “Follow-up” trick.
The “Deepening” Workflow:
Don’t just accept the first output. Look at a specific section—let’s say “Manufacturing Hurdles”—and ask a follow-up:
“This section on manufacturing is great, but I need a 2,000-word deep dive just on the ‘dendrite formation’ issue. Find 10 more sources specifically regarding silver-carbon layers.”
By “zooming in” on each sub-topic, you are essentially building your report chapter by chapter. Because Perplexity maintains persistent context, it won’t forget what you talked about in the previous section.
Step 4: The 10-Minute Reality Check (Accuracy)
“10 minutes” includes the time it takes to verify. One of the best things about Perplexity is the Citation Sidebar.
- Hover over the numbers: Every claim has a number. Hover over it to see the source.
- Check the ‘Trust Score’: If a source is a random blog, take it with a grain of salt. If it’s a .gov or a .edu, you’re gold.
- Export as PDF: Once you’ve built your “Page” with all the sub-sections, export it. You now have a document that is formatted, cited, and deeper than anything a human could have manually compiled in that timeframe.
Why This Changes Everything
The “Deep Research” trick isn’t about being lazy; it’s about reclaiming your time for synthesis. Instead of spending 90% of your time finding information and 10% analyzing it, this tool flips the script. You spend 10 minutes gathering the world’s most relevant data, which leaves you with hours to actually think about what that data means for your business or your project.
Ready to try it? Start a new Space in Perplexity, toggle on Deep Research, and give it a topic that usually gives you a headache. You might be surprised at what it finds in the corners of the web you never thought to check.