<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/azure-o3-deep-research-retirement -->
# Azure o3-deep-research retires Nov 19, 2026: where to move

Compared on Nov 13, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/azure-o3-deep-research-retirement

Microsoft retires `o3-deep-research` version 2025-06-26 in Azure OpenAI on November 19, 2026. Its replacement is `gpt-5.6-sol`, a general model you pair with web search. The classic Deep Research tool in Foundry Agent Service goes the same day.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. `POST /v1/research` takes the same research prompt and returns a written report with the page behind each cited sentence, at $0.10, $0.30 or $1.00 a report.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-azure-o3-deep-research-retirement&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fagents%3Ftab%3Dkeys) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 100 quick reports or 33 standard reports.

## SpecStream, o3-deep-research on Azure and its replacement

| | SpecStream | Azure o3-deep-research | Azure gpt-5.6-sol with web search |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Nov 19, 2026 | `POST /v1/research` answers, on the same key as the Search API and the Extract API | Retired. Microsoft's policy: a retired model is removed from service and all inference requests return `410 Gone` | Generally available, version 2026-07-09, with a retirement date of January 11, 2028 |
| Who can start today | Anyone. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card | Existing customers. The lifecycle is Deprecated, so a subscription that never deployed this version cannot create a deployment | Any Azure customer. A generally available model takes new deployments |
| The call | `POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research` with `input`, then `GET /v1/research/{id}` | The Responses API with `model` set to your deployment, `background: true` and at least one data source: `web_search_preview` or a remote MCP server | Microsoft recommends the latest Agents GA API with the latest GPT models and web search |
| What comes back | `report.content`, the text with `[1]` markers. `report.citations` gives each cited sentence its page, read time and passage. `report.sources` lists every page read | A citation-rich report: a `message` with inline `url_citation` annotations, after the list of `web_search_call` items | A grounded response with citations |
| Where the web search runs | SpecStream reads the live web for each report. Source URL and read time on every citation | Grounding with Bing Search. Regions: West US and Norway East | Grounding with Bing Search. Microsoft says data transfers occur outside compliance and geographic boundaries |
| Price | $0.10 quick, $0.30 standard, $1.00 deep. Taken once, when the report is delivered. A cancelled report is not charged | $10.00 input and $40.00 output per 1M tokens, Global list price on a tracker that reads the Azure Retail Prices API. Grounding with Bing Search is billed on top | $8.00 per 1M tokens blended at 3:1 input to output on the same tracker, against $17.50 for `o3-deep-research`. Grounding with Bing Search is billed on top |
| Price before the run | Shown as `price_usd` in the reply to the `POST`, one price for each depth | Metered as the run goes. Microsoft's advice is `max_tool_calls` to control tool usage and manage cost and latency | Metered by tokens, and use of Grounding with Bing Search incurs costs |

## What retires on November 19, and why teams move to SpecStream

### What ends on November 19

Microsoft's model retirement schedule lists `o3-deep-research` version 2025-06-26 as Deprecated with the retirement date 2026-11-19 and the replacement `gpt-5.6-sol`. The same date applies to `o1`, `o1-pro`, `o3`, `o3-pro`, `o3-mini` and `o4-mini`. Microsoft's lifecycle policy says a retired model is removed from service and all inference requests return `410 Gone`.

The schedule also says the Replacement column is, where supported, the target for automatic upgrades at retirement. For Global Standard, Data Zone Standard and Standard deployments Microsoft manages those upgrades, and `o3-deep-research` deploys as Global Standard. So plan for one of two results: a `410`, or a deployment that now answers as `gpt-5.6-sol`, a general model. Provisioned deployments are not upgraded for you.

The classic Deep Research tool in Foundry Agent Service ends with the model. Microsoft's page says the tool will be deprecated when the `o3-deep-research` model retires on November 19, 2026.

### The replacement is a general model with a search tool

`o3-deep-research` was built for one job: browse, analyze and synthesize hundreds of sources into a citation-rich report. `gpt-5.6-sol` is a general model. On Azure you give it the web search tool, write the research instructions yourself and test the reports again. Microsoft's own advice is to evaluate available models with your application and data, comparing quality, latency and cost.

A SpecStream research report is the same job as one call. You send the question as `input` and choose `quick`, `standard` or `deep`. A quick report takes about a minute, a standard report about four minutes and a deep report about five.

### Each cited sentence comes with its passage

An Azure deep research answer carries `url_citation` annotations with a title, a URL and character offsets. A SpecStream report goes one step further. `report.citations` gives each cited sentence its page, the time it was read and the passage that supports it, and `report.sources` lists every page read in the run. Your reader checks a sentence against the passage without opening the whole page. The [research report docs](https://specstream.ai/docs/research?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) list every field.

### You know the price before the report starts

On Azure a research run is metered by tokens and tool calls as it goes, and Grounding with Bing Search is billed on top. A SpecStream report costs $0.10 for `quick`, $0.30 for `standard` and $1.00 for `deep`. The reply to the `POST` shows the price as `price_usd`, the balance pays it once when the report is delivered, and a cancelled report costs nothing. See [pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement).

### No deployment, no region and no Bing resource

The Azure setup needs a model deployment in West US or Norway East, and the classic tool also needs a `gpt-4o` deployment and a Grounding with Bing Search resource in the same subscription and region. SpecStream needs one API key. For JSON in place of text, send `"output": {"type": "json", "schema": {...}}`. `include_domains` and `exclude_domains` choose the sites, and a `webhook` is called when the report ends.

### Search and page reading on the same key

The SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct), and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Scores and method are on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) page. The [Search API](https://specstream.ai/search-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, or $1 with `speed=fast`, and the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) costs $0.80 per 1,000 pages.

## What else Azure deep research users price

### OpenAI's own API

SpecStream writes the report for $0.10, $0.30 or $1.00. The same model is gone from OpenAI's API: OpenAI shut down `o3-deep-research` on July 23, 2026, and its deprecations page names `gpt-5.6-sol` there too. The [OpenAI deep research page](https://specstream.ai/openai-deep-research-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) has the details.

### Gemini Deep Research

Two preview agents on Google's Interactions API. Google estimates $1.00 to $3.00 a task, and $3.00 to $7.00 on Deep Research Max, at preview rates that can change, and its guide says the agent does not support structured outputs. A SpecStream deep report costs $1.00 and returns JSON when you send a schema.

### Parallel Task API

Priced per run by processor, from $5 per 1,000 runs on lite to $2,400 per 1,000 on ultra8x. The ultra processor costs $300 per 1,000, or 30¢ a run, and takes 5 to 25 minutes. A SpecStream standard report costs the same 30¢ and takes about four minutes.

## How to move an Azure o3-deep-research call before Nov 19

1. Find every call. Search for your `o3-deep-research` deployment name in `responses.create` calls, and for the classic Deep Research tool in Agents SDK code on the `2025-05-15-preview` API.

2. Create a SpecStream key under Agents & API in the workspace. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

3. Start the report. Your research prompt becomes `input`, up to 15,000 characters, and `depth` takes the place of `max_tool_calls`. The reply is `202` with the report's `id` and its `price_usd`.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": "Research the economic impact of semaglutide on global healthcare systems.", "depth": "standard"}'
```

4. Read it until `status` is `completed`, as you polled the background response. `report.content` takes the place of the final `message`, and `report.citations` the place of its `url_citation` annotations.

```
curl https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research/REPORT_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"
```

5. If you used a webhook on Azure, pass `"webhook": {"url": "https://..."}`, or follow `GET /v1/research/{id}/events`. Send an `Idempotency-Key` header on the `POST` so a retry returns the same report and is charged once.

To stay on Azure, deploy `gpt-5.6-sol` and give it SpecStream as a remote MCP server in the Responses API. The model then searches and reads the live web through SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results and $0.80 per 1,000 pages, with no Bing resource.

```
import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://YOUR-RESOURCE-NAME.openai.azure.com/openai/v1/",
    api_key=os.getenv("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"),
)

response = client.responses.create(
    model="gpt-5.6-sol",  # your deployment name
    background=True,
    tools=[{
        "type": "mcp",
        "server_label": "specstream",
        "server_url": "https://api.specstream.ai/mcp",
        "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"]},
        "require_approval": "never",
    }],
    input="Research the economic impact of semaglutide on global healthcare systems.",
)
print(response.id, response.status)
```

The same MCP server runs the whole report for an agent: `research_price` shows the price of each depth, `start_research` starts the report once the person who pays approves that price, and `get_research` reads it. The [MCP guide](https://specstream.ai/docs/mcp?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=azure-o3-deep-research-retirement) has the setup for each client.

## Frequently asked questions

### When does o3-deep-research retire on Azure?

November 19, 2026. Microsoft's model retirement schedule lists `o3-deep-research` version 2025-06-26 in Azure OpenAI as Deprecated, with the retirement date 2026-11-19.

### What replaces o3-deep-research on Azure?

Microsoft names `gpt-5.6-sol`, version 2026-07-09, which it lists as generally available until January 11, 2028. It is a general model, so the research behavior comes from the web search tool and your own instructions.

### What happens to my deployment on November 19?

One of two things. Microsoft's policy says all inference requests to a retired model return `410 Gone`, and its schedule says the replacement is, where supported, the target for automatic upgrades at retirement. Provisioned deployments are not upgraded automatically.

### Is the Deep Research tool in Foundry Agent Service affected?

Yes, on the same day, November 19, 2026. Microsoft's page says the tool will be deprecated when the `o3-deep-research` model retires, and recommends the latest Agents GA API with the latest GPT models and web search.

### Can I use o3-deep-research on OpenAI's API in place of Azure?

No. OpenAI shut the model down on July 23, 2026 and names `gpt-5.6-sol` as the replacement.

### What does a SpecStream research report cost?

$0.10 for `quick`, $0.30 for `standard` and $1.00 for `deep`. The price is taken once, when the report is delivered, and a cancelled report is not charged. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

### Does SpecStream have an API and an MCP server?

Yes, and new accounts get $10 of credit, no card. The report runs at `POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/research`, and over MCP at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` with `research_price`, `start_research` and `get_research`.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each Microsoft fact comes from Microsoft's own pages, and the Azure token prices from a public tracker that reads the Azure Retail Prices API.

- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 13, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 13, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Microsoft Foundry model retirement schedule](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/concepts/model-retirement-schedule), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Microsoft Foundry Models lifecycle and support policy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/concepts/model-retirements), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Azure OpenAI deep research with the Responses API](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/how-to/deep-research), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Foundry Agent Service Deep Research tool (classic)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-classic/agents/how-to/tools-classic/deep-research), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Foundry web search tool](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/agents/how-to/tools/web-search), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Azure OpenAI Responses API](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/how-to/responses), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Foundry model availability tracker: o3-deep-research](https://jinlee794.github.io/foundry-model-availability-notifications/models/o3-deep-research/), read Nov 13, 2026
- [OpenAI o3-deep-research](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/o3-deep-research), read Nov 13, 2026
- [OpenAI deprecations](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Gemini Deep Research agent](https://aistudio.google.com/docs/deep-research), read Nov 13, 2026
- [Parallel pricing](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing.md), read Nov 13, 2026