Parallel Research Overview Deep web research, competitive intelligence, entity discovery, and data enrichment using Parallel AI's specialized APIs. Quick Decision Tree What do you need? │ ├── Quick factual answer (3-5 seconds) │ └── Chat API ($0.005/request) │ └── Script: scripts/parallel_research.py chat "question" │ ├── Comprehensive research report (5min-2hr) │ └── Deep Research API ($0.30/report for ultra) │ └── Script: scripts/parallel_research.py research "topic" │ ├── Find entities matching criteria (companies, people) │ └── FindAll API ($0.03 + $0.10/match) │ └── Script: scripts/parallel_research.py findall "query" │ └── Enrich existing data (add fields to records) └── Task API with schema ($0.025/record for core) └── Script: scripts/parallel_research.py enrich data.csv Environment Setup

Required in .env

PARALLEL_API_KEY

your_api_key_here

Get your API key:

https://platform.parallel.ai/settings/api-keys

Common Usage

Quick Q&A

python scripts/parallel_research.py chat

"What is Anthropic's latest funding round?"

Deep Research Report

python scripts/parallel_research.py research

"Competitive landscape of AI code editors in 2025"

--processor

ultra

Find Companies

python scripts/parallel_research.py findall

"AI code editor companies that raised funding in 2024-2025"

--limit

50

Basic Research (Simplified)

python scripts/basic_research.py

"Company Name"

Vendor Selection

python scripts/vendor_selection.py

"CRM software"

--requirements

"enterprise,API,automation"

Processor Tiers

Processor

Cost/1K

Latency

Best For

lite

$5

10-60s

Basic metadata

base

$10

15-100s

Simple research

core

$25

1-5min

Cross-referenced research

pro

$100

2-10min

Exploratory research

ultra

$300

5-25min

Deep research (recommended)

ultra-fast

$300

2-10min

Speed + quality

Cost Estimates

Task

API

Cost

100 quick questions

Chat

$0.50

Market research report

Deep Research (ultra)

$0.30

Find 50 competitors

FindAll (core)

~$5.00

Enrich 100 leads

Task (core)

$2.50

Free Tier

20,000 requests free (combined across all APIs).

Security Notes

Credential Handling

Store

PARALLEL_API_KEY

in

.env

file (never commit to git)

Regenerate keys at

https://platform.parallel.ai/settings/api-keys

Never log or print API keys in script output

Use environment variables, not hardcoded values

Data Privacy

Research queries are sent to Parallel AI servers

Research outputs may contain third-party company information

Results are stored locally in

.tmp/

directory

Parallel AI may log queries for service improvement

Avoid including sensitive internal data in research queries

Access Scopes

API key provides full access to all research endpoints

No granular permission scopes available

Monitor usage and costs via Parallel AI dashboard

Compliance Considerations

Data Sources

Research pulls from public web sources

Citation

Always cite sources in research outputs

Accuracy

AI-generated research should be verified

Competitive Intel

Ensure competitive research complies with policies

Third-Party Data

Respect intellectual property of sources

PII in Results

Research results may contain company/individual PII

Data Freshness

Verify currency of time-sensitive information Troubleshooting Common Issues Issue: Processor timeout Symptoms: Request times out or returns partial results Cause: Complex query requiring more processing time than allowed Solution: Use a faster processor tier ( lite or base instead of ultra ) Simplify the research query Break complex queries into multiple smaller requests Increase timeout in script if configurable Issue: Credits exhausted Symptoms: "Insufficient credits" or quota error Cause: Account credits depleted Solution: Check balance at https://platform.parallel.ai/dashboard Upgrade plan or purchase additional credits Use lower-cost processor tiers for less critical queries Monitor usage to avoid unexpected depletion Issue: Invalid response format Symptoms: JSON parsing error or unexpected response structure Cause: API returned error or malformed response Solution: Check query format matches API requirements Retry the request (may be transient issue) Verify API key is valid and active Review API documentation for expected response format Issue: Empty or irrelevant results Symptoms: Research returns no results or off-topic content Cause: Query too narrow, ambiguous, or poorly structured Solution: Broaden the search query Add context to clarify query intent Try different phrasing or keywords Use Chat API first to validate query understanding Issue: API authentication failed Symptoms: "Invalid API key" or 401 error Cause: API key expired, invalid, or not set Solution: Regenerate key at https://platform.parallel.ai/settings/api-keys Verify PARALLEL_API_KEY is set correctly in .env Check for leading/trailing whitespace in key Ensure key has not been revoked Issue: Rate limited Symptoms: 429 error or "rate limit exceeded" Cause: Too many concurrent requests Solution: Add delays between requests Reduce parallel request count Implement exponential backoff Contact support for higher rate limits if needed Resources references/api-guide.md - Complete API documentation references/basic-research.md - Simple company research references/vendor-selection.md - Vendor comparison workflow Integration Patterns Research to Report Skills: parallel-research → content-generation Use case: Create polished reports from research findings Flow: Run deep research on topic/company Generate structured research output Format into branded document via content-generation FindAll to CRM Skills: parallel-research → attio-crm Use case: Populate CRM with discovered companies Flow: Use FindAll to discover companies matching criteria Enrich each company with additional data Create/update company records in Attio CRM Research to Sheets Skills: parallel-research → google-workspace Use case: Build research database in Google Sheets Flow: Run FindAll or batch research on multiple entities Structure results as tabular data Upload to Google Sheets for team collaboration