Research
Consensus
Consensus searches peer-reviewed papers and summarizes what they report. Answers point back to the studies they came from.
- papers
- citations
Freemiumconsensus.app
Best AI research tools
Research listings split into general chat apps and tools that point at sources. A chat app can draft and answer. A cited search tool is the better fit when you need the page, paper, or uploaded file the answer came from.
Alphabetical order is not a quality ranking. Pricing on the card is the directory's label, not a quote.
How to choose
Use Perplexity, Consensus, Elicit, Semantic Scholar, or Exa when the answer should name its sources. Elicit, Consensus, and Semantic Scholar are aimed at papers. Exa is a search API as well as a research site. Gemini Notebook answers from documents you upload. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Microsoft Copilot, and DeepSeek are general chat apps with a free tier; use them when the job is a question or a draft rather than a bibliography.
Answers that cite a source
These are built to show the page, paper, or file behind the answer.
Research
Elicit
Elicit searches academic papers and pulls findings into a table. Researchers use it to screen a literature set.
- papers
- literature review
Freemiumelicit.comResearch
Exa
Exa is a search engine built for research and for AI apps. It finds pages by meaning, and developers can call it from an API.
- search
- API
Freemiumexa.aiResearch
Gemini Notebook
Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, answers questions from documents you upload. It can also turn those sources into a briefing or an audio overview.
- documents
- summaries
- NotebookLM
Freenotebook.google.comResearch
Perplexity
Perplexity answers questions and cites the pages it used. It is built for research more than for a long open-ended chat.
- search
- citations
Freemiumperplexity.aiResearch
Semantic Scholar
Semantic Scholar is a free academic search engine from the Allen Institute for AI. It finds papers and shows citations and short summaries.
- papers
- citations
- search
Freesemanticscholar.org
General chat apps
These answer questions, read files, and draft text. Citations are not the main thing their listings promise.
Research
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is OpenAI's chat app. People use it to ask questions, draft text, analyze files, and start agents such as Codex.
- chat
- writing
- files
Freemiumchatgpt.comResearch
Claude
Claude is Anthropic's chat app for questions, long documents, and writing. Paid plans cover heavier use.
- chat
- documents
- writing
Freemiumclaude.aiResearch
DeepSeek
DeepSeek Chat is the chat app for DeepSeek's models. It answers questions and helps with reasoning and code, with a free tier.
- chat
- reasoning
- code
Freemiumchat.deepseek.comResearch
Gemini
Gemini is Google's chat app. It answers questions, works with Google apps, and can look at files, images, and the live web.
- chat
- web
Freemiumgemini.google.comResearch
Grok
Grok is a chat assistant on the web and in mobile apps. It answers questions and can work with files, images, and voice.
- chat
- search
- files
Freemiumgrok.comResearch
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is a chat assistant on the web and inside Windows and Microsoft 365. Paid work plans can use it with your own files.
- chat
- Microsoft 365
- search
Freemiumcopilot.microsoft.com
Categories
12 tools in this guide on AgentAtlas. Each card links to the listing, and the listing links to the official site.