Perplexity
Free LLM Chatbot + Research Search Engine
-
Perplexity
(Perplexity) Perplexity AI is a search engine that uses large language models to answer queries using sources from the web and cites links within the text response.
- Pros:
- Great for:
- Generating Ideas
- Narrowing/Broadening Topics
- Searching the Internet
- Generating Broad Overviews of Topics
- Uses multiple LLMs and daily-updated web indexes to produce content
- Provides links to sources
- Allows users to choose between "Web", "Academic", and "Social" search settings
- Automatically generates follow-up question suggestions for users
- Cons:
- Some features are behind a paywall
- No journal articles are linked or cited in content results. "Academic" search setting links to credible web results, but not typically to academic journal articles.
- Does not generate citations (but the provided links allow you to write them independently)
Elicit
LLM-Enabled Literature Reviews and Research Reports
-
Elicit
(Ought) An AI-enabled research assistant that uses language models to automate part of researchers' workflows.
- Pros:
- Great for:
- Locating Academic Papers
- Summarizing Findings of Multiple Academic Papers Simultaneously
- Asking Questions about the Located Academic Papers
- Uses multiple LLMs to accomplish a variety of tasks
- Search Semantic Scholar for open source academic journals
- Analyze selected papers for relevance to user prompts
- Generate a detailed report/synthesis of the selected papers
- LLM-Chatbot that answers user's follow-up questions about the report
- Provides links to References
- Allows users to download a PDF of the generated report
- Cons:
- Expanded features are hidden behind a paywall
- All references are retrieved from the Semantic Scholar, an open-source, AI-driven database of scientific articles
- Does not generate citations (but the provided links allow you to write them independently)
Copilot
Free LLM Chatbot + Automatically Incorporated Web Results
-
Copilot
(Microsoft) Microsoft Copilot is your companion to inform, entertain, and inspire. Get advice, feedback, and straightforward answers.
- Pros:
- Great for:
- Generating Ideas
- Narrowing/Broadening Topic
- Identifying Additional Keywords
- Generating Broad Overviews of Topics
- Uses both its training resources and web results (Bing) to generate content
- Links directly to the Bing results it pulls information from
- Cons:
- Relies exclusively on Bing search results
- Additional plugins and applications beyond the LLM chatbot are behind a paywall with certain Microsoft 365 packages
- Does not generate citations (but the provided links allow you to write them independently)
Google
Gemini - Free LLM Chatbot
Google Web Search Overview
-
Gemini Chatbot
(Google) Start writing, planning and learning with your AI-powered assistant.
-
Google
Very popular platform including search engine, maps, translator, AI text, and many other products
- Pros:
- Chatbot:
- Generating Ideas
- Narrowing/Broadening Topic
- Identifying Additional Keywords
- Provides links to sources
- Allows users to choose between the default and Deep Research settings
- Google Web Search Overview
- Automatically generated during Google searches
- Uses both its training resources and web results (Google) to generate content
- Links directly to the Google results it pulls information from
- Cons:
- Relies exclusively on Google search results
- Must login to Google to access the Deep Research setting.
- No journal articles are linked or cited in content results. Deep Research search setting links to credible web results, but not typically to academic journal articles.
- Does not generate citations (but the provided links allow you to write them independently)
ChatGPT
Free LLM Chatbot
-
ChatGPT
(OpenAI) Free to use. Easy to try. Just ask and ChatGPT can help with writing, learning, brainstorming, and more.
- Pros:
- Great for:
- Generating Ideas
- Narrowing/Broadening Topics
- Identifying additional keywords
- Provides links to sources if prompted to do so
- Allows users to choose between several settings, including the default, Search the Web, and Run Deep Research
- Cons:
- Must login to ChatGPT to access the Run Deep Research setting.
- No journal articles are linked or cited in content results. Run Deep Research setting links to credible web results, but not typically to academic journal articles.
- Links are not provided unless ChatGPT is prompted to do so.
- Does not generate citations (but the provided links allow you to write them independently)
Other AI Tools
Find the Right AI Tool for Your Needs
Additional AI Tools to Consider
-
Consensus
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine. Search & analyze 200M+ peer reviewed research papers. Free to use.
-
Scite
Supercharge your research with Scite AI and search powered by the world’s scholarly content. Currently accessible behind a paywall.
AI-Based Research Databases
-
Research Rabbit
"Spotify of Papers" Research Rabbit creates visual maps of papers and authors. These maps help you see how different papers are connected.
-
Semantic Scholar
We index over 200 million academic papers sourced from publisher partnerships, data providers, and web crawls. Exclusively indexes scientific publications.
AI Tools Directory
-
AI Tools Directory
AI Tools Directory is a comprehensive collection of curated artificial intelligence software tools.