AI Research Assistants
Short answer
AI research assistants find and read academic literature. Elicit and Consensus search papers and summarise findings, Scite shows how papers cite each other, and Genei and Sciasy help summarise and organise reading. They differ from general chatbots by grounding answers in real papers, but they can still misread or overstate findings. Check every claim against the paper itself. Prices were last checked in June 2026 and are being re-verified.
What this category covers: Literature search and evidence. For general web answers see Productivity (Perplexity).
AI Research Assistants compared
| Tool | What it does | Pricing model | Status | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elicit | An AI research assistant that finds academic papers, extracts data from them and supports systematic reviews. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Consensus | An AI search engine for scientific research that answers questions with findings from peer-reviewed papers. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Scite | A research tool that shows how papers have been cited, including whether citations support or contrast a claim. | Free trial | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Sciasy | Listed as an AI assistant for scientific research tasks such as reading papers and analysing data. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Genei | A reading and research tool that summarises documents and helps organise notes and references. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| NotebookLM | Google's research notebook that answers questions from your uploaded sources and can turn them into an AI-hosted audio discussion (Audio Overviews). | Free plan available | Active | 5 October 2026 |
All tools in this category
Elicit
An AI research assistant that finds academic papers, extracts data from them and supports systematic reviews.
Consensus
An AI search engine for scientific research that answers questions with findings from peer-reviewed papers.
Scite
A research tool that shows how papers have been cited, including whether citations support or contrast a claim.
Sciasy
Listed as an AI assistant for scientific research tasks such as reading papers and analysing data.
Genei
A reading and research tool that summarises documents and helps organise notes and references.
NotebookLM
Google's research notebook that answers questions from your uploaded sources and can turn them into an AI-hosted audio discussion (Audio Overviews).
How to choose
Evidence: Editorial assessmentSearch, extraction or citation checking?
For finding papers on a question, use a search-first tool such as Consensus or Elicit. For pulling data out of many papers, look for structured extraction. For checking whether a claim is supported, use citation context such as Scite's supporting and contrasting citations.
Coverage and sources
Check which databases a tool searches and whether full text or only abstracts are used. Answers based on abstracts can miss limitations stated in the paper.
Verify every citation
Even research tools can attach the wrong paper to a claim. Open the source, read the relevant section and cite the paper, not the AI summary.
Students and institutions
Check your institution's AI policy. Many universities allow AI for search and summarising but not for writing submitted work.
What changed in this update
- Added a buyer's guide and FAQ.
- Removed unsourced ratings and review counts.
Common questions
Is Elicit or Consensus better?
Consensus is built around answering a research question from papers; Elicit adds structured extraction for reviews. Try both on a question you know well.
Can AI research tools hallucinate citations?
Tools that search real databases are less likely to invent papers, but they can still misattribute claims. Always open and check the source.
Is Perplexity a research tool?
Perplexity is a general answer engine with web citations and is listed under Productivity. For academic literature, the tools here are more specialised.
Why are some tools not indexed?
Sciasy and Genei are awaiting a liveness and content check; their pages stay available but out of search until they meet our minimum standard.