Library Guides: AI Tools and Resources: Other AI Tools for Research

AI-powered Tools

There has been an explosion of AI products! This guide highlights tools that anyone can use for free and are focused on academic sources. Recommend other free AI tools to add to this list by sending suggestions to Diane Sotak, librarian liaison to the sciences and engineering.

Similar for-profit, AI-powered tools are not included in our list because they have a limited number of free uses. Popular ones are Connected Papers, Consensus, Elicit, LitMaps, ResearchGPT, Scholarcy, Scite, and Undermind. Visit the Generative AI Product Tracker to learn more about them and keep up with what is out there.

Find or Screen Research

Semantic Scholar
This free AI-driven search and discovery tool provides a streamlined search platform for over 200 million academic papers. Developed within the Allen Institute for AI to support high-quality research. Has a beta Semantic Reader tool.
Perplexity Academic
Free search engine that provides answers with citations to sources. Perplexity Academic limits answers to academic papers. Search scope can be changed to search the Web or Social (discussions and opinions).
ASReview Lab
Free to download and use. A machine-learning software that can systematically review large amounts of articles/content according to your preferences. Coordinated by Utrecht University, the software is part of a non-profit initiative driven by multidisciplinary researchers and system engineers worldwide.

Map Research

OpenAlex
Functions as a free catalog of scholarly research. Indexes the global research literature, journals, researchers, and institutions. Visualize research outputs and use tools to analyze research trends. Developed by OurResearch, a nonprofit dedicated to making research open.
Inciteful
Free, open access tools. Paper Discovery builds networks of papers from citations - useful for finding similar papers, important papers, authors, and institutions. Use the Literature Connector tool to bridge two domains. Enter a paper from each domain to visualize the literature connections. Has a Zotero plugin.
ResearchRabbit
Free to use with an account sign-up. Using “seed” articles, the platform finds related articles to explore through a bubble map visualization. Supported by a development collective, which has pledged to keep the core discovery functionalities open for all. Integrates with reference managers (i.e., Zotero, Mendeley).

Summarize or Query Research

OpenScholar
Query this fully open, retrieval-augmented language model that can synthesize 8M+ open access research papers to answer scientific questions. Developed as a joint project between Semantic Scholar and University of Washington.
Gemini Deep Research
Earlier model currently available within free version of Gemini. An agentic feature that can browse websites (or uploaded files) and synthesize findings into reports.
NotebookLM
Requires Google account for free or fee versions. Personalized assistant that works with sources you upload. Can create easy-to-understand formats. Has a chatbot for querying your "notebook" for answers.