diff --git a/docs/plans/mana-research-service.md b/docs/plans/mana-research-service.md
index bc717b238..1554c17a2 100644
--- a/docs/plans/mana-research-service.md
+++ b/docs/plans/mana-research-service.md
@@ -430,17 +430,21 @@ Klassifikation ist optional und fällt bei LLM-Timeout auf `'general'` zurück.
 - [x] Run-Listen-Endpoints bereits in Phase 1 geliefert
 - [x] ~~Nightly-Job~~: Live-Aggregation im `addResult()`-Pfad via `onConflictDoUpdate` genügt für Phase 2.
 
-### Phase 3 — Research Agents + mana-ai Migration (≈ 1–2 Wochen)
+### Phase 3a — Sync Research Agents ✅ (2026-04-17)
 
-- [ ] Provider-Adapter:
+- [x] Provider-Adapter (via direct HTTP, keine SDK-Deps):
   - `PerplexitySonarProvider` (4 Modelle: sonar, sonar-pro, sonar-reasoning, sonar-deep-research)
-  - `ClaudeWebSearchProvider` (via Anthropic SDK + tool-use)
-  - `OpenAIResponsesProvider` (via OpenAI SDK + `web_search_preview` tool)
-  - `GeminiGroundingProvider` (via google-genai SDK mit Search-Grounding)
-  - `OpenAIDeepResearchProvider` — **async**, via BullMQ/inline Job-Queue, Response-Endpoint `GET /v1/research/tasks/:id`
-- [ ] `POST /v1/research` + `POST /v1/research/compare`
-- [ ] Auto-Router für `conversational`-Queries → Agent-Mode
-- [ ] `mana-llm` um Anthropic- und OpenAI-Provider erweitern (nur für Claude/OpenAI Agents; restlicher LLM-Workflow bleibt Ollama-first)
+  - `ClaudeWebSearchProvider` (Anthropic Messages API mit `web_search_20250305` Tool)
+  - `OpenAIResponsesProvider` (OpenAI Responses API mit `web_search_preview` Tool)
+  - `GeminiGroundingProvider` (Google GenAI v1beta mit Google-Search-Grounding)
+- [x] `POST /v1/research` + `POST /v1/research/compare`
+- [x] Agent-Auto-Router (`pickAgent` wählt ersten Provider mit Key: perplexity → gemini → openai → claude → deep-research)
+- [x] Agents in `/v1/providers` + `/v1/providers/health` integriert
+
+### Phase 3b — Async + Migrationen (offen)
+
+- [ ] `OpenAIDeepResearchProvider` — async, via Job-Queue, `GET /v1/research/tasks/:id` Polling-Endpoint
+- [ ] Auto-Router für `conversational`-Queries → Agent-Mode in `/v1/search` (aktuell separate Endpoints)
 - [ ] **Migration:** `apps/api/src/modules/news-research/routes.ts` wird zum dünnen Adapter auf `mana-research`
 - [ ] **Migration:** `services/mana-ai/src/planner/news-research-client.ts` ruft jetzt `mana-research` direkt statt `mana-api`
 - [ ] **Migration:** `research_news`-Tool bekommt Option `depth: 'shallow' | 'deep'`; `deep` ruft Agent-Mode
diff --git a/services/mana-research/CLAUDE.md b/services/mana-research/CLAUDE.md
index 18a128c47..b56a39b50 100644
--- a/services/mana-research/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/services/mana-research/CLAUDE.md
@@ -32,8 +32,9 @@ bun run db:studio
 ## Phases
 
 - **Phase 1** ✅ — 4 search providers (`searxng`, `duckduckgo`, `brave`, `tavily`), `/v1/search`, `/v1/search/compare`, `/v1/runs`, `/v1/providers`, `mana-credits` reserve/commit/refund.
-- **Phase 2 (current)** ✅ — +2 search providers (`exa`, `serper`), 3 extract providers (`readability`, `jina-reader`, `firecrawl`), `/v1/extract`, `/v1/extract/compare`, query classifier + auto-router, `/v1/providers/health`.
-- **Phase 3** — Research agents (`perplexity-sonar`, `claude-web-search`, `openai-responses`, `gemini-grounding`, `openai-deep-research`). mana-ai migration to use this service.
+- **Phase 2** ✅ — +2 search providers (`exa`, `serper`), 3 extract providers (`readability`, `jina-reader`, `firecrawl`), `/v1/extract`, `/v1/extract/compare`, query classifier + auto-router, `/v1/providers/health`.
+- **Phase 3a (current)** ✅ — 4 sync research agents (`perplexity-sonar`, `claude-web-search`, `openai-responses`, `gemini-grounding`), `/v1/research`, `/v1/research/compare`, agent auto-router.
+- **Phase 3b** — `openai-deep-research` (async via job queue), mana-ai migration to call mana-research, `research_news` tool gets `depth: shallow|deep` option, mana-api news-research becomes thin adapter.
 - **Phase 4** — Research Lab UI + Settings for BYO-keys.
 
 ## API Endpoints
@@ -46,6 +47,8 @@ bun run db:studio
 | POST | `/api/v1/search/compare` | Fan-out to N providers (max 5), persist eval_run. Body: `{ query, providers[], options? }`. |
 | POST | `/api/v1/extract` | Single-provider extract, auto-routed if `provider` omitted. Body: `{ url, provider?, options? }`. |
 | POST | `/api/v1/extract/compare` | Fan-out to N extract providers (max 4). Body: `{ url, providers[], options? }`. |
+| POST | `/api/v1/research` | Single-agent research. Auto-routed if `provider` omitted. Body: `{ query, provider?, options? }`. |
+| POST | `/api/v1/research/compare` | Fan-out to N agents (max 4). Body: `{ query, providers[], options? }`. |
 | GET | `/api/v1/runs` | List user's eval runs. Query: `?limit=50&offset=0`. |
 | GET | `/api/v1/runs/:id` | Run + all results. |
 | POST | `/api/v1/runs/:runId/results/:resultId/rate` | Body: `{ rating: 1-5, notes? }`. |
@@ -84,6 +87,16 @@ Reserved for Phase 3 when `mana-ai` migrates to call this service directly. `/ap
 | `jina-reader` | optional `JINA_API_KEY` | 1 | `r.jina.ai`, JS-rendering + PDF, Markdown out. |
 | `firecrawl` | `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` | 10 | Playwright-based, best for JS-heavy sites. Self-hostable. |
 
+### Research Agents (4 sync, 1 async planned)
+
+| Provider | Key | Cost | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `perplexity-sonar` | `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` | 50 | 4 models: sonar, sonar-pro, sonar-reasoning, sonar-deep-research. Best plug-and-play. |
+| `gemini-grounding` | `GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY` | 100 | Gemini + Google Search grounding. Single-step. |
+| `openai-responses` | `OPENAI_API_KEY` | 200 | Responses API with `web_search_preview` tool. Multi-step. |
+| `claude-web-search` | `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` | 200 | Claude + `web_search_20250305` tool, up to 5 searches/call. |
+| `openai-deep-research` | `OPENAI_API_KEY` | 1000 | ⏳ Phase 3b — async, returns taskId to poll. |
+
 ## Auto-routing
 
 When `provider` is omitted from `POST /v1/search`, the service classifies the query via regex (fast path, ~0ms) and optionally the LLM (`useLlmClassifier: true`), then picks the first available provider from `SEARCH_ROUTE_MAP[type]`:
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/executor/execute-research.ts b/services/mana-research/src/executor/execute-research.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bcf54e18b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/executor/execute-research.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+/**
+ * Agent-side executor. Same shape as search/extract but for long-running
+ * LLM-backed research calls with citations.
+ */
+
+import type {
+	AgentAnswer,
+	AgentOptions,
+	BillingMode,
+	ProviderId,
+	ProviderMeta,
+	ResearchAgent,
+} from '@mana/shared-research';
+import type { CreditsClient } from '../clients/mana-credits';
+import type { Config } from '../config';
+import { ProviderNotConfiguredError } from '../lib/errors';
+import { priceFor } from '../lib/pricing';
+import type { ConfigStorage } from '../storage/configs';
+import { cacheGet, cacheKey, cacheSet } from '../lib/cache';
+import { mapEnvKey } from './env-map';
+
+export interface ExecuteResearchInput {
+	provider: ResearchAgent;
+	query: string;
+	options: AgentOptions;
+	userId: string;
+	signal?: AbortSignal;
+}
+
+export interface ExecuteResearchOutput {
+	success: boolean;
+	data?: { answer: AgentAnswer };
+	meta: ProviderMeta;
+}
+
+export interface ExecutorDeps {
+	credits: CreditsClient;
+	configs: ConfigStorage;
+	config: Config;
+}
+
+export async function executeResearch(
+	input: ExecuteResearchInput,
+	deps: ExecutorDeps
+): Promise<ExecuteResearchOutput> {
+	const { provider, query, options, userId, signal } = input;
+	const providerId = provider.id;
+	const t0 = performance.now();
+
+	let apiKey: string | null = null;
+	let billingMode: BillingMode = 'free';
+
+	if (provider.requiresApiKey) {
+		const userConfig = await deps.configs.getForUser(userId, providerId);
+		if (userConfig?.enabled && userConfig.apiKeyEncrypted) {
+			apiKey = await deps.configs.decryptKey(userConfig);
+			if (apiKey) billingMode = 'byo-key';
+		}
+		if (!apiKey) {
+			apiKey = deps.config.providerKeys[mapEnvKey(providerId)] ?? null;
+			if (apiKey) billingMode = 'server-key';
+		}
+		if (!apiKey) {
+			return makeError(providerId, t0, new ProviderNotConfiguredError(providerId));
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Agent responses depend on query + model — include model in cache key
+	const ckey = cacheKey('agent', providerId, query, options);
+	const cached = await cacheGet<{ answer: AgentAnswer }>(ckey);
+	if (cached) {
+		return {
+			success: true,
+			data: cached,
+			meta: {
+				provider: providerId,
+				category: 'agent',
+				latencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				costCredits: 0,
+				cacheHit: true,
+				billingMode,
+			},
+		};
+	}
+
+	const price = billingMode === 'server-key' ? priceFor(providerId, 'research') : 0;
+
+	let reservationId: string | null = null;
+	if (price > 0 && billingMode === 'server-key') {
+		try {
+			const reservation = await deps.credits.reserve(
+				userId,
+				price,
+				`research:${providerId}:research`
+			);
+			reservationId = reservation.reservationId;
+		} catch (err) {
+			return makeError(providerId, t0, err as Error);
+		}
+	}
+
+	try {
+		const res = await provider.research(query, options, { apiKey, userId, signal });
+		await cacheSet(ckey, { answer: res.answer }, deps.config.cacheTtlSeconds);
+
+		if (reservationId) {
+			await deps.credits
+				.commit(reservationId, `research ${providerId}`)
+				.catch((err) => console.warn('[executor] commit failed:', err));
+		}
+
+		return {
+			success: true,
+			data: { answer: res.answer },
+			meta: {
+				provider: providerId,
+				category: 'agent',
+				latencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				costCredits: price,
+				cacheHit: false,
+				billingMode,
+			},
+		};
+	} catch (err) {
+		if (reservationId) {
+			await deps.credits
+				.refund(reservationId)
+				.catch((refundErr) => console.warn('[executor] refund failed:', refundErr));
+		}
+		return makeError(providerId, t0, err as Error);
+	}
+}
+
+function makeError(providerId: ProviderId, t0: number, err: Error): ExecuteResearchOutput {
+	const code = (err as { code?: string }).code ?? err.name ?? 'ERROR';
+	return {
+		success: false,
+		meta: {
+			provider: providerId,
+			category: 'agent',
+			latencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+			costCredits: 0,
+			cacheHit: false,
+			billingMode: 'free',
+			errorCode: code,
+		},
+	};
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/index.ts b/services/mana-research/src/index.ts
index d41b3944c..cf4630dda 100644
--- a/services/mana-research/src/index.ts
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/index.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import { serviceAuth } from './middleware/service-auth';
 import { healthRoutes } from './routes/health';
 import { createSearchRoutes } from './routes/search';
 import { createExtractRoutes } from './routes/extract';
+import { createResearchRoutes } from './routes/research';
 import { createProvidersRoutes } from './routes/providers';
 import { createRunsRoutes } from './routes/runs';
 import { buildRegistry } from './providers/registry';
@@ -84,6 +85,9 @@ app.route(
 app.use('/api/v1/extract/*', jwtAuth(config.manaAuthUrl));
 app.route('/api/v1/extract', createExtractRoutes(registry, runStorage, executorDeps, config));
 
+app.use('/api/v1/research/*', jwtAuth(config.manaAuthUrl));
+app.route('/api/v1/research', createResearchRoutes(registry, runStorage, executorDeps, config));
+
 app.use('/api/v1/runs/*', jwtAuth(config.manaAuthUrl));
 app.route('/api/v1/runs', createRunsRoutes(runStorage));
 
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/claude-web-search.ts b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/claude-web-search.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e31bb484
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/claude-web-search.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/**
+ * Claude with server-side web_search tool.
+ * Docs: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/tool-use/web-search-tool
+ *
+ * Anthropic charges per tool invocation + tokens. No subscription.
+ */
+
+import type { ResearchAgent, Citation } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import { ProviderError, ProviderNotConfiguredError } from '../../lib/errors';
+
+const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'claude-opus-4-7';
+const DEFAULT_MAX_SEARCHES = 5;
+
+type ContentBlock =
+	| { type: 'text'; text: string; citations?: CitationBlock[] }
+	| { type: 'tool_use'; id: string; name: string; input: unknown }
+	| { type: 'server_tool_use'; id: string; name: string; input: unknown }
+	| { type: 'web_search_tool_result'; tool_use_id: string; content: WebSearchResult[] };
+
+interface CitationBlock {
+	type: 'web_search_result_location';
+	url?: string;
+	title?: string;
+	cited_text?: string;
+}
+
+interface WebSearchResult {
+	type: 'web_search_result';
+	url: string;
+	title: string;
+	page_age?: string;
+	encrypted_content?: string;
+}
+
+interface AnthropicResponse {
+	content?: ContentBlock[];
+	usage?: {
+		input_tokens?: number;
+		output_tokens?: number;
+	};
+}
+
+export function createClaudeWebSearchProvider(): ResearchAgent {
+	return {
+		id: 'claude-web-search',
+		requiresApiKey: true,
+		capabilities: {
+			multiStep: true,
+			async: false,
+			withCitations: true,
+		},
+		async research(query, options, ctx) {
+			if (!ctx.apiKey) throw new ProviderNotConfiguredError('claude-web-search');
+			const t0 = performance.now();
+
+			const model = options.model ?? DEFAULT_MODEL;
+
+			const res = await fetch('https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages', {
+				method: 'POST',
+				headers: {
+					'x-api-key': ctx.apiKey,
+					'anthropic-version': '2023-06-01',
+					'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+				},
+				body: JSON.stringify({
+					model,
+					max_tokens: options.maxTokens ?? 2048,
+					temperature: options.temperature ?? 0.3,
+					system: options.systemPrompt,
+					messages: [{ role: 'user', content: query }],
+					tools: [
+						{
+							type: 'web_search_20250305',
+							name: 'web_search',
+							max_uses: DEFAULT_MAX_SEARCHES,
+						},
+					],
+				}),
+				signal: ctx.signal,
+			});
+
+			if (!res.ok) {
+				const body = await res.text().catch(() => '');
+				throw new ProviderError('claude-web-search', `HTTP ${res.status} ${body.slice(0, 200)}`);
+			}
+
+			const data = (await res.json()) as AnthropicResponse;
+
+			const textParts: string[] = [];
+			const citationsMap = new Map<string, Citation>();
+
+			for (const block of data.content ?? []) {
+				if (block.type === 'text') {
+					textParts.push(block.text);
+					for (const cit of block.citations ?? []) {
+						if (cit.url && !citationsMap.has(cit.url)) {
+							citationsMap.set(cit.url, {
+								url: cit.url,
+								title: cit.title ?? cit.url,
+								snippet: cit.cited_text,
+							});
+						}
+					}
+				}
+				if (block.type === 'web_search_tool_result') {
+					const results = block.content as WebSearchResult[];
+					for (const r of results) {
+						if (r.url && !citationsMap.has(r.url)) {
+							citationsMap.set(r.url, { url: r.url, title: r.title });
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
+			const tokenUsage = data.usage
+				? {
+						input: data.usage.input_tokens ?? 0,
+						output: data.usage.output_tokens ?? 0,
+					}
+				: undefined;
+
+			return {
+				answer: {
+					query,
+					answer: textParts.join('\n\n'),
+					citations: [...citationsMap.values()],
+					tokenUsage,
+					providerRaw: data,
+				},
+				rawLatencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				tokenUsage,
+			};
+		},
+	};
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/gemini-grounding.ts b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/gemini-grounding.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e290fa5a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/gemini-grounding.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/**
+ * Gemini with Google Search grounding.
+ * Docs: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/grounding
+ *
+ * Pay-per-use (tokens + per-grounding-query fee). No subscription.
+ */
+
+import type { Citation, ResearchAgent } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import { ProviderError, ProviderNotConfiguredError } from '../../lib/errors';
+
+const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'gemini-2.0-flash';
+
+interface GeminiResponse {
+	candidates?: Array<{
+		content?: {
+			parts?: Array<{ text?: string }>;
+		};
+		groundingMetadata?: {
+			groundingChunks?: Array<{
+				web?: { uri: string; title?: string };
+			}>;
+			webSearchQueries?: string[];
+		};
+	}>;
+	usageMetadata?: {
+		promptTokenCount?: number;
+		candidatesTokenCount?: number;
+	};
+}
+
+export function createGeminiGroundingProvider(): ResearchAgent {
+	return {
+		id: 'gemini-grounding',
+		requiresApiKey: true,
+		capabilities: {
+			multiStep: false,
+			async: false,
+			withCitations: true,
+		},
+		async research(query, options, ctx) {
+			if (!ctx.apiKey) throw new ProviderNotConfiguredError('gemini-grounding');
+			const t0 = performance.now();
+
+			const model = options.model ?? DEFAULT_MODEL;
+			const url = `https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/${model}:generateContent?key=${encodeURIComponent(
+				ctx.apiKey
+			)}`;
+
+			const contents = [{ role: 'user', parts: [{ text: query }] }];
+
+			const res = await fetch(url, {
+				method: 'POST',
+				headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+				body: JSON.stringify({
+					contents,
+					tools: [{ googleSearch: {} }],
+					generationConfig: {
+						temperature: options.temperature ?? 0.3,
+						maxOutputTokens: options.maxTokens ?? 2048,
+					},
+					...(options.systemPrompt
+						? { systemInstruction: { parts: [{ text: options.systemPrompt }] } }
+						: {}),
+				}),
+				signal: ctx.signal,
+			});
+
+			if (!res.ok) {
+				const body = await res.text().catch(() => '');
+				throw new ProviderError('gemini-grounding', `HTTP ${res.status} ${body.slice(0, 200)}`);
+			}
+
+			const data = (await res.json()) as GeminiResponse;
+			const candidate = data.candidates?.[0];
+			const answer = (candidate?.content?.parts ?? []).map((p) => p.text ?? '').join('');
+
+			const citationsMap = new Map<string, Citation>();
+			for (const chunk of candidate?.groundingMetadata?.groundingChunks ?? []) {
+				if (chunk.web?.uri && !citationsMap.has(chunk.web.uri)) {
+					citationsMap.set(chunk.web.uri, {
+						url: chunk.web.uri,
+						title: chunk.web.title ?? chunk.web.uri,
+					});
+				}
+			}
+
+			const tokenUsage = data.usageMetadata
+				? {
+						input: data.usageMetadata.promptTokenCount ?? 0,
+						output: data.usageMetadata.candidatesTokenCount ?? 0,
+					}
+				: undefined;
+
+			return {
+				answer: {
+					query,
+					answer,
+					citations: [...citationsMap.values()],
+					followUpQueries: candidate?.groundingMetadata?.webSearchQueries,
+					tokenUsage,
+					providerRaw: data,
+				},
+				rawLatencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				tokenUsage,
+			};
+		},
+	};
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/openai-responses.ts b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/openai-responses.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fadf72cf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/openai-responses.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+/**
+ * OpenAI Responses API with web_search_preview tool.
+ * Docs: https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/tools-web-search
+ *
+ * Pay-per-use (tokens + per-search fees). No subscription.
+ */
+
+import type { Citation, ResearchAgent } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import { ProviderError, ProviderNotConfiguredError } from '../../lib/errors';
+
+const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'gpt-4o';
+
+interface ResponsesApiResponse {
+	output?: Array<OutputItem>;
+	output_text?: string;
+	usage?: {
+		input_tokens?: number;
+		output_tokens?: number;
+	};
+}
+
+type OutputItem =
+	| { type: 'message'; role: string; content: MessageContent[] }
+	| { type: 'web_search_call'; id: string; status: string };
+
+type MessageContent = {
+	type: 'output_text';
+	text: string;
+	annotations?: Array<{
+		type: string;
+		url?: string;
+		title?: string;
+		start_index?: number;
+		end_index?: number;
+	}>;
+};
+
+export function createOpenAIResponsesProvider(): ResearchAgent {
+	return {
+		id: 'openai-responses',
+		requiresApiKey: true,
+		capabilities: {
+			multiStep: true,
+			async: false,
+			withCitations: true,
+		},
+		async research(query, options, ctx) {
+			if (!ctx.apiKey) throw new ProviderNotConfiguredError('openai-responses');
+			const t0 = performance.now();
+
+			const model = options.model ?? DEFAULT_MODEL;
+
+			const body: Record<string, unknown> = {
+				model,
+				input: options.systemPrompt
+					? [
+							{ role: 'system', content: options.systemPrompt },
+							{ role: 'user', content: query },
+						]
+					: query,
+				tools: [{ type: 'web_search_preview' }],
+				max_output_tokens: options.maxTokens ?? 2048,
+			};
+
+			const res = await fetch('https://api.openai.com/v1/responses', {
+				method: 'POST',
+				headers: {
+					Authorization: `Bearer ${ctx.apiKey}`,
+					'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+				},
+				body: JSON.stringify(body),
+				signal: ctx.signal,
+			});
+
+			if (!res.ok) {
+				const errBody = await res.text().catch(() => '');
+				throw new ProviderError('openai-responses', `HTTP ${res.status} ${errBody.slice(0, 200)}`);
+			}
+
+			const data = (await res.json()) as ResponsesApiResponse;
+
+			const textParts: string[] = [];
+			const citationsMap = new Map<string, Citation>();
+
+			if (data.output_text) textParts.push(data.output_text);
+
+			for (const item of data.output ?? []) {
+				if (item.type !== 'message') continue;
+				const msgItem = item as { content: MessageContent[] };
+				for (const content of msgItem.content ?? []) {
+					if (content.type === 'output_text') {
+						if (!data.output_text) textParts.push(content.text);
+						for (const ann of content.annotations ?? []) {
+							if (ann.url && !citationsMap.has(ann.url)) {
+								citationsMap.set(ann.url, {
+									url: ann.url,
+									title: ann.title ?? ann.url,
+								});
+							}
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
+			const tokenUsage = data.usage
+				? {
+						input: data.usage.input_tokens ?? 0,
+						output: data.usage.output_tokens ?? 0,
+					}
+				: undefined;
+
+			return {
+				answer: {
+					query,
+					answer: textParts.join('\n\n'),
+					citations: [...citationsMap.values()],
+					tokenUsage,
+					providerRaw: data,
+				},
+				rawLatencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				tokenUsage,
+			};
+		},
+	};
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/perplexity-sonar.ts b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/perplexity-sonar.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b123123de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/providers/agent/perplexity-sonar.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/**
+ * Perplexity Sonar — chat-completions API with built-in web search.
+ * Docs: https://docs.perplexity.ai/api-reference/chat-completions
+ *
+ * Models (pay-per-use):
+ *   sonar                — cheap, fast
+ *   sonar-pro            — balanced
+ *   sonar-reasoning      — chain-of-thought, deeper answers
+ *   sonar-deep-research  — longest/most comprehensive
+ */
+
+import type { ResearchAgent } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import { ProviderError, ProviderNotConfiguredError } from '../../lib/errors';
+
+const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'sonar';
+const ALLOWED_MODELS = new Set(['sonar', 'sonar-pro', 'sonar-reasoning', 'sonar-deep-research']);
+
+interface SonarResponse {
+	choices?: Array<{
+		message?: {
+			content?: string;
+		};
+	}>;
+	citations?: string[];
+	search_results?: Array<{ url: string; title?: string; snippet?: string }>;
+	usage?: {
+		prompt_tokens?: number;
+		completion_tokens?: number;
+	};
+}
+
+export function createPerplexitySonarProvider(): ResearchAgent {
+	return {
+		id: 'perplexity-sonar',
+		requiresApiKey: true,
+		capabilities: {
+			multiStep: true,
+			async: false,
+			withCitations: true,
+		},
+		async research(query, options, ctx) {
+			if (!ctx.apiKey) throw new ProviderNotConfiguredError('perplexity-sonar');
+			const t0 = performance.now();
+
+			const model =
+				options.model && ALLOWED_MODELS.has(options.model) ? options.model : DEFAULT_MODEL;
+
+			const res = await fetch('https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions', {
+				method: 'POST',
+				headers: {
+					Authorization: `Bearer ${ctx.apiKey}`,
+					'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+				},
+				body: JSON.stringify({
+					model,
+					messages: [
+						...(options.systemPrompt ? [{ role: 'system', content: options.systemPrompt }] : []),
+						{ role: 'user', content: query },
+					],
+					max_tokens: options.maxTokens ?? 1024,
+					temperature: options.temperature ?? 0.2,
+				}),
+				signal: ctx.signal,
+			});
+
+			if (!res.ok) {
+				const body = await res.text().catch(() => '');
+				throw new ProviderError('perplexity-sonar', `HTTP ${res.status} ${body.slice(0, 200)}`);
+			}
+
+			const data = (await res.json()) as SonarResponse;
+			const answer = data.choices?.[0]?.message?.content ?? '';
+
+			const citations =
+				data.search_results?.map((r) => ({
+					url: r.url,
+					title: r.title ?? r.url,
+					snippet: r.snippet,
+				})) ?? (data.citations ?? []).map((url) => ({ url, title: url }));
+
+			const tokenUsage = data.usage
+				? {
+						input: data.usage.prompt_tokens ?? 0,
+						output: data.usage.completion_tokens ?? 0,
+					}
+				: undefined;
+
+			return {
+				answer: {
+					query,
+					answer,
+					citations,
+					tokenUsage,
+					providerRaw: data,
+				},
+				rawLatencyMs: Math.round(performance.now() - t0),
+				tokenUsage,
+			};
+		},
+	};
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/providers/registry.ts b/services/mana-research/src/providers/registry.ts
index 8cbc79422..e06f99e41 100644
--- a/services/mana-research/src/providers/registry.ts
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/providers/registry.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import type {
 	ExtractProvider,
 	ExtractProviderId,
 	ProviderId,
+	ResearchAgent,
 	SearchProvider,
 	SearchProviderId,
 } from '@mana/shared-research';
@@ -21,10 +22,15 @@ import { createTavilyProvider } from './search/tavily';
 import { createFirecrawlProvider } from './extract/firecrawl';
 import { createJinaReaderProvider } from './extract/jina-reader';
 import { createReadabilityProvider } from './extract/readability';
+import { createPerplexitySonarProvider } from './agent/perplexity-sonar';
+import { createClaudeWebSearchProvider } from './agent/claude-web-search';
+import { createOpenAIResponsesProvider } from './agent/openai-responses';
+import { createGeminiGroundingProvider } from './agent/gemini-grounding';
 
 export interface ProviderRegistry {
 	search: Map<SearchProviderId, SearchProvider>;
 	extract: Map<ExtractProviderId, ExtractProvider>;
+	agent: Map<AgentProviderId, ResearchAgent>;
 }
 
 export function buildRegistry(deps: { manaSearch: ManaSearchClient }): ProviderRegistry {
@@ -41,7 +47,13 @@ export function buildRegistry(deps: { manaSearch: ManaSearchClient }): ProviderR
 	extract.set('jina-reader', createJinaReaderProvider());
 	extract.set('firecrawl', createFirecrawlProvider());
 
-	return { search, extract };
+	const agent = new Map<AgentProviderId, ResearchAgent>();
+	agent.set('perplexity-sonar', createPerplexitySonarProvider());
+	agent.set('claude-web-search', createClaudeWebSearchProvider());
+	agent.set('openai-responses', createOpenAIResponsesProvider());
+	agent.set('gemini-grounding', createGeminiGroundingProvider());
+
+	return { search, extract, agent };
 }
 
 export function getSearchProvider(registry: ProviderRegistry, id: string): SearchProvider {
@@ -64,6 +76,16 @@ export function getExtractProvider(registry: ProviderRegistry, id: string): Extr
 	return provider;
 }
 
+export function getAgent(registry: ProviderRegistry, id: string): ResearchAgent {
+	const provider = registry.agent.get(id as AgentProviderId);
+	if (!provider) {
+		throw new BadRequestError(`Unknown research agent: ${id}`, {
+			available: [...registry.agent.keys()],
+		});
+	}
+	return provider;
+}
+
 export function listProviders(registry: ProviderRegistry) {
 	return {
 		search: [...registry.search.values()].map((p) => ({
@@ -78,7 +100,12 @@ export function listProviders(registry: ProviderRegistry) {
 			requiresApiKey: p.requiresApiKey,
 			capabilities: p.capabilities,
 		})),
-		agent: [] as Array<{ id: AgentProviderId; category: 'agent'; requiresApiKey: boolean }>,
+		agent: [...registry.agent.values()].map((p) => ({
+			id: p.id,
+			category: 'agent' as const,
+			requiresApiKey: p.requiresApiKey,
+			capabilities: p.capabilities,
+		})),
 	};
 }
 
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/router/auto-route.ts b/services/mana-research/src/router/auto-route.ts
index 8d52c3974..b1f1ea388 100644
--- a/services/mana-research/src/router/auto-route.ts
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/router/auto-route.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * list. The first provider in the returned list that has a valid API key wins.
  */
 
-import type { SearchProviderId, ExtractProviderId } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import type { AgentProviderId, ExtractProviderId, SearchProviderId } from '@mana/shared-research';
 import type { Config } from '../config';
 import type { QueryType } from './classify';
 
@@ -68,3 +68,29 @@ export function pickExtractProvider(
 	}
 	return null;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Preference order for agents when caller doesn't specify one. Cheaper +
+ * fastest first, then better quality if keys are available.
+ */
+export const AGENT_DEFAULT_ORDER: AgentProviderId[] = [
+	'perplexity-sonar', // best plug-and-play, moderate cost
+	'gemini-grounding', // cheap with Google Search
+	'openai-responses', // Responses API + web_search_preview
+	'claude-web-search', // high quality, higher cost
+	'openai-deep-research', // last: async, very expensive
+];
+
+export function pickAgent(config: Config): AgentProviderId | null {
+	const envMap: Record<AgentProviderId, keyof Config['providerKeys']> = {
+		'perplexity-sonar': 'perplexity',
+		'claude-web-search': 'anthropic',
+		'openai-responses': 'openai',
+		'gemini-grounding': 'googleGenai',
+		'openai-deep-research': 'openai',
+	};
+	for (const id of AGENT_DEFAULT_ORDER) {
+		if (config.providerKeys[envMap[id]]) return id;
+	}
+	return null;
+}
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/routes/providers.ts b/services/mana-research/src/routes/providers.ts
index dcdd85366..47f6bcb81 100644
--- a/services/mana-research/src/routes/providers.ts
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/routes/providers.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export function createProvidersRoutes(registry: ProviderRegistry, config: Config
 			return c.json({
 				search: list.search.map((p) => ({ ...p, pricing: PROVIDER_PRICING[p.id] })),
 				extract: list.extract.map((p) => ({ ...p, pricing: PROVIDER_PRICING[p.id] })),
-				agent: list.agent,
+				agent: list.agent.map((p) => ({ ...p, pricing: PROVIDER_PRICING[p.id] })),
 			});
 		})
 		.get('/health', (c) => {
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ export function createProvidersRoutes(registry: ProviderRegistry, config: Config
 				'jina-reader': !!keys.jina,
 				firecrawl: !!keys.firecrawl,
 				scrapingbee: !!keys.scrapingbee,
+				'perplexity-sonar': !!keys.perplexity,
+				'claude-web-search': !!keys.anthropic,
+				'openai-responses': !!keys.openai,
+				'openai-deep-research': !!keys.openai,
+				'gemini-grounding': !!keys.googleGenai,
 			};
 
 			const list = listProviders(registry);
@@ -64,6 +69,13 @@ export function createProvidersRoutes(registry: ProviderRegistry, config: Config
 					serverKeyAvailable: !!keyMap[p.id],
 					status: check(p.id, p.requiresApiKey, !!keyMap[p.id]),
 				})),
+				...list.agent.map((p) => ({
+					id: p.id,
+					category: 'agent' as const,
+					requiresApiKey: p.requiresApiKey,
+					serverKeyAvailable: !!keyMap[p.id],
+					status: check(p.id, p.requiresApiKey, !!keyMap[p.id]),
+				})),
 			];
 
 			return c.json({
diff --git a/services/mana-research/src/routes/research.ts b/services/mana-research/src/routes/research.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..69c47fb44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/mana-research/src/routes/research.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+/**
+ * POST /v1/research          — single-agent research (or auto-routed)
+ * POST /v1/research/compare  — fan-out to multiple agents
+ */
+
+import { Hono } from 'hono';
+import { z } from 'zod';
+import type { AgentAnswer } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import { AGENT_PROVIDER_IDS, agentOptionsSchema } from '@mana/shared-research';
+import type { ExecutorDeps } from '../executor/execute-research';
+import { executeResearch } from '../executor/execute-research';
+import type { HonoEnv } from '../lib/hono-env';
+import type { ProviderRegistry } from '../providers/registry';
+import { getAgent } from '../providers/registry';
+import type { RunStorage } from '../storage/runs';
+import { BadRequestError } from '../lib/errors';
+import type { Config } from '../config';
+import { pickAgent } from '../router/auto-route';
+
+const MAX_COMPARE_AGENTS = 4;
+
+const researchBodySchema = z.object({
+	query: z.string().min(1).max(2000),
+	provider: z.enum(AGENT_PROVIDER_IDS).optional(),
+	options: agentOptionsSchema.optional(),
+});
+
+const compareBodySchema = z.object({
+	query: z.string().min(1).max(2000),
+	providers: z.array(z.enum(AGENT_PROVIDER_IDS)).min(1).max(MAX_COMPARE_AGENTS),
+	options: agentOptionsSchema.optional(),
+});
+
+export function createResearchRoutes(
+	registry: ProviderRegistry,
+	storage: RunStorage,
+	deps: ExecutorDeps,
+	config: Config
+) {
+	return new Hono<HonoEnv>()
+		.post('/', async (c) => {
+			const user = c.get('user');
+			const body = researchBodySchema.parse(await c.req.json());
+
+			const providerId = body.provider ?? pickAgent(config);
+			if (!providerId) {
+				throw new BadRequestError(
+					'No research agent configured. Set at least one of PERPLEXITY_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY.'
+				);
+			}
+
+			const provider = getAgent(registry, providerId);
+
+			const run = await storage.createRun({
+				userId: user.userId,
+				query: body.query,
+				mode: body.provider ? 'single' : 'auto',
+				category: 'agent',
+				providersRequested: [providerId],
+				billingMode: provider.requiresApiKey ? 'server-key' : 'free',
+			});
+
+			const out = await executeResearch(
+				{
+					provider,
+					query: body.query,
+					options: body.options ?? {},
+					userId: user.userId,
+				},
+				deps
+			);
+
+			await storage.addResult({
+				runId: run.id,
+				providerId,
+				success: out.success,
+				latencyMs: out.meta.latencyMs,
+				costCredits: out.meta.costCredits,
+				billingMode: out.meta.billingMode,
+				cacheHit: out.meta.cacheHit,
+				normalizedResult: out.data ?? null,
+				errorCode: out.meta.errorCode ?? null,
+			});
+
+			if (out.meta.costCredits > 0) {
+				await storage.finalizeRunCost(run.id, out.meta.costCredits);
+			}
+
+			return c.json({
+				runId: run.id,
+				query: body.query,
+				provider: providerId,
+				success: out.success,
+				data: out.data,
+				meta: out.meta,
+			});
+		})
+		.post('/compare', async (c) => {
+			const user = c.get('user');
+			const body = compareBodySchema.parse(await c.req.json());
+
+			if (new Set(body.providers).size !== body.providers.length) {
+				throw new BadRequestError('Duplicate providers in request');
+			}
+
+			const providers = body.providers.map((id) => getAgent(registry, id));
+			const anyPaid = providers.some((p) => p.requiresApiKey);
+
+			const run = await storage.createRun({
+				userId: user.userId,
+				query: body.query,
+				mode: 'compare',
+				category: 'agent',
+				providersRequested: body.providers,
+				billingMode: anyPaid ? 'mixed' : 'free',
+			});
+
+			const settled = await Promise.all(
+				providers.map((provider) =>
+					executeResearch(
+						{
+							provider,
+							query: body.query,
+							options: body.options ?? {},
+							userId: user.userId,
+						},
+						deps
+					)
+				)
+			);
+
+			let totalCost = 0;
+			for (let i = 0; i < providers.length; i++) {
+				const out = settled[i];
+				totalCost += out.meta.costCredits;
+				await storage.addResult({
+					runId: run.id,
+					providerId: providers[i].id,
+					success: out.success,
+					latencyMs: out.meta.latencyMs,
+					costCredits: out.meta.costCredits,
+					billingMode: out.meta.billingMode,
+					cacheHit: out.meta.cacheHit,
+					normalizedResult: out.data ?? null,
+					errorCode: out.meta.errorCode ?? null,
+				});
+			}
+			if (totalCost > 0) await storage.finalizeRunCost(run.id, totalCost);
+
+			return c.json({
+				runId: run.id,
+				query: body.query,
+				results: providers.map((provider, i) => ({
+					provider: provider.id,
+					success: settled[i].success,
+					data: settled[i].data as { answer: AgentAnswer } | undefined,
+					meta: settled[i].meta,
+				})),
+			});
+		});
+}