The resources described in the table represent an incomplete list of tools capable of exploring and synthesizing research. As generative AI becomes more integrated in online search tools, the early stages of research and topic development will increasingly incorporate AI. The tools available and their business models evolve quickly -- some information on this page might be out of date. If you have any questions about using these tools for your research, please send an email to Nat Gustafson-Sundell, gustan2(at)mnsu.edu or Jenny Turner, jenny.turner(at)mnsu.edu.
AI tools for research can help you to discover new sources for your literature review or research assignment. They are great for brainstorming and helping to develop methodologies. DO NOT use chatbots to write for you unless specifically assigned to do so. DO NOT submit journal articles or other texts you download from the library to these tools unless the article has a CC-BY license. Some of the tools below will synthesize information from large databases of scholarly output with the aim of finding the most relevant articles and saving researchers' time. As with our research databases or any other search tool, however, it's important not to rely on one tool for all of your research, as you will risk missing important information on your topic of interest.
NAME | WHAT IT DOES | UNDERLYING DATA | IS IT FREE? | MORE INFORMATION |
---|---|---|---|---|
ChatGPT | While the AI chatbot ChatGPT is typically thought of as a text generation tool, it is best used in the initial idea development phase of research, and can also help develop methods to find additional sources. | ChatGPT can connect to the internet. The paid version "allows some paying subscribers to create reports that synthesize information, with citations, from hundreds of websites" (Gibney, 2025). | There is a free version available. | OpenAI Help Center - ChatGPT |
Claude | Clause is an AI-powered chatbot that responds to natural language queries with relevant information. "In Silicon Valley, many people swear by Claude 3.5 Sonnet for writing code" (Gibney, 2025). | Clause can connect to the internet. | There is a free version available. | Anthropic, the company behind Claude, was founded by defectors from OpenAI. Their goal was to build safe AI. Anthropic - About |
Connected Papers | Connected Papers focuses on the relationships between research papers to find similar research. You can also use Connected Papers to get a visual overview of an academic field. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free (5 graphs/month); paid version allows unlimited graphing. | Connected Papers - About |
Consensus | Consensus uses large language models (LLMs) to help researchers find and synthesize answers to research questions, focusing on the scholarly authors' findings and claims in each paper. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free trial. Paid version allows unlimited searching. | Consensus FAQs |
deepseek | deepseek is an AI-powered chatbot that responds to natural language queries with relevant information. deepseek can be downloaded or accessed online for free, but a powerful computer is needed to run the full version locally. "The model seems to have a particularly long ‘thought’ process, which slows it down and makes it less useful for looking up information or brainstorming" (Gibney, 2025). | deepseek can connect to the internet. | Free. | deepseek.com |
Elicit | Elicit uses LLMs to find papers relevant to your topic by searching through papers and citations and extracting and synthesizing key information. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free limited version available. | Elicit FAQs (older version FAQs) |
Gemini | Gemini is an AI-powered chatbot that responds to natural language queries with relevant information. As with ChatGPT, researchers can use Gemini to aid in topic development and initial source discovery. | Gemini can connect to the Internet. | Gemini is currently free to use. (Personal Google account required.) | Gemini FAQ |
Perplexity | Using LLMs, Perplexity is a search engine that provides AI-generated answers (like ChatGPT, but much simpler) including citations which are linked above the summaries. | Internal search index | Free version available. | Perplexity FAQs |
Research Rabbit | Research Rabbit is a citation-based mapping tool that focuses on the relationships between research works. It uses visualizations to help researchers find similar papers and other researchers in their field. | Research Rabbit uses multiple databases, but does not name them (more information can be found on the FAQ page). | "Free Forever" | Research Rabbit FAQs |
Scholarcy | Scholarcy summarizes key points and claims of articles into 'summary cards' that researchers can read, share, and annotate when compiling research on a given topic. | Scholarcy only uses research papers uploaded or linked by the researcher themselves. It works as a way to help you read and summarize your research, but is not a search engine. | Free version available (limit of 10 summaries). | Scholarcy FAQs |
scite | scite has a suite of products that help researchers develop their topics, find papers, and search citations in context (describing whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence) | Many different sources (an incomplete list can be found on this page) | 7-day free trial. (Pricing information) | scite FAQs; how scite works |
Semantic Scholar | Semantic Scholar, which supplies underlying data for many of the other tools on this list, provides brief summaries of the main objectives and results of papers. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free. | Semantic Scholar FAQs |
Gibney, E. (2025, February 17). What are the best AI tools for research? Nature’s guide. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00437-0