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Unlike generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini—known for creating scholarly sources that don’t exist—AI Research Assistants connect directly to open scholarly indexes like Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, and CrossRef, some of which contain over 200 million records. While still smaller than Google Scholar’s estimated 400 million records, they offer more reliable entry points for academic discovery. Below is a sampling of AI Research Assistants that you can try, all of which include free access plans.
Elicit builds on the Semantic Scholar dataset, offering literature review mapping, brainstorming support, and Zotero integration.
Consensus blends Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, and its own crawled content to summarize evidence from scholarly publications.
SciSpace takes it further with comparative charts, PDF chat, and citation tools.
Even though the assistants seem promising, these tools still face limitations: articles behind paywalls are often inaccessible, many summaries rely only on abstracts, and inaccuracies or biases remain. Prompt engineering also plays a key role. Well-formed research questions yield better results.
Used wisely, AI research assistants can streamline early stages of research (narrowing topics, identifying keywords, and mapping literature) while leaving deeper critical reading and analysis to the user. It is recommended to combine AI research assistants with library database searches.
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