# Sonar-deep-research taking longer than expected **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Created:** [January 20, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599 "2026-01-20T14:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sselepahs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/sselepahs/32/2210_2.png) [@sselepahs](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/sselepahs)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/1 "2026-01-20T14:39:36Z")
## 🐛 Describe the Bug When asking for a sonar-deep-research using the async API, I poll to check for the status of the deep research for about 30-40 minutes I get a status of IN\_PROGRESS. When it eventually completes the payload returns to me as only took about 2 minutes. ```auto "created_at": 1768872046, "started_at": 1768872046, "completed_at": 1768872180, ``` ## ✅ Expected Behavior After 2 minutes or the completed\_at time the poll endpoint should return the research as completed. ## ❌ Actual Behavior Takes 40+ minutes for the retrieve result api to send back as completed, and the completed time says it only took 2 minutes ## 🔄 Steps to Reproduce 1. Call the API with the following request: curl --location ‘[https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions’](https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions%E2%80%99) –header ‘Authorization: Bearer ’ –header ‘Content-Type: application/json’ –data ‘{ “request”: { “model”: “sonar-deep-research”, “messages”: [ { “role”: “user”, “content”: “Provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of AI on global job markets over the next decade.” } ] } }’ | jq 2. Take the id and call the polling endpoint curl --location ‘[https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions/{REPLACE\_WITH\_REQUEST\_ID}’](https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions/%7BREPLACE_WITH_REQUEST_ID%7D%E2%80%99) –header “Authorization: Bearer ” ## 📌 API Request & Response (if applicable) ## 🌍 Environment - **API Version:** sonar-deep-research - **SDK (if applicable):** ai-sdk v6 - **Operating System:** macos ## 📎 Logs or Screenshots (if applicable) Add any logs or screenshots that can help debug the issue. ## 📝 Additional Context Add any other context about the problem here. ---
**Author:** ![ashhh\_3](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/ashhh_3/32/170_2.png) [@ashhh\_3](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/ashhh_3)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 5:29am UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/2 "2026-01-23T05:29:23Z")
Hi @**[sselepahs](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/sselepahs)**, I’m experiencing the same issue for the past 4 days. When using the async API for `sonar-deep-research`, the job appears to complete quickly based on the `completed_at` timestamp, but the polling endpoint continues to return `IN_PROGRESS` for a long time (around 20–30 minutes). During this time, my system keeps polling the endpoint 70–80 times before it finally returns `COMPLETED,`and at last it results with TIMEOUT error instead of successful completion. This is causing two major issues: - Unnecessary repeated polling (infrastructure overhead) - Tokens continuing to be counted during polling, which directly increases cost Is there any update or acknowledgment from the Perplexity team on this issue? Are there any recommended workarounds (e.g., backoff strategy, max polling duration, or alternative endpoint) until this is resolved? ---
**Author:** ![UEckl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/ueckl/32/438_2.png) [@UEckl](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/UEckl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/3 "2026-01-23T14:21:47Z")
Figured out, that this might be an caching issue on perplexity side: When querying the COMPLETE endpoint with a timestamp parameter, it will show you the results. also explains why the completedAt and startedAt time difference does not match the actual time to response. ---
**Author:** ![JLAFE](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/jlafe/32/227_2.png) [@JLAFE](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/JLAFE)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/4 "2026-01-23T17:26:46Z")
Have you guys found a workaround? Would really appreciate some suggestions, if any ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Swannell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/will_swannell/32/2580_2.png) [@Will\_Swannell](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/Will_Swannell)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/6 "2026-02-01T21:30:56Z")
This is a major issue.. also reported in these other threads… > [@Async endpoints return different status for List vs Get on /completions endpoint](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/async-endpoints-return-different-status-for-list-vs-get-on-completions-endpoint/3681): > > I need to report a bug I found in the API for Async calls, here is the details: I tested Perplexity’s API directly using curl: # Direct curl to Perplexity’s LIST endpoint curl “[https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions?limit=5](https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions?limit=5)” Returns: status: “COMPLETED”, completed\_at: 1769385424 # Direct curl to Perplexity’s GET endpoint curl “[https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions/](https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions/33d2f3b2-e5bd-413d-a1ef-ada898e37507)[id]” Returns: status: “IN\_PROGRESS”, completed\_at: null Same API key, same job ID, same moment in time - t… > [@Async chat completion stuck in IN\_PROGRESS for hours while sync returns successfully](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/async-chat-completion-stuck-in-in-progress-for-hours-while-sync-returns-successfully/3661/2): > > This is happening to me too. It seems to happen if I poll before it completes.. It’s killing my app in production which is incredibly frustrating to happen from a larger platform like this.. Please can someone look at this! I’m happy to provide specific details. ---
**Author:** ![JLAFE](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/jlafe/32/227_2.png) [@JLAFE](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/JLAFE)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/7 "2026-02-01T22:14:38Z")
it’s been 2 weeks and not a single response from perplexity. also posted the same thing on discord ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Swannell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/will_swannell/32/2580_2.png) [@Will\_Swannell](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/Will_Swannell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/sonar-deep-research-taking-longer-than-expected/3599/8 "2026-02-05T19:36:01Z")
Perplexity, your APIs don’t work. U ok?