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What is Generative AI?

Generative AI (GenAI) tools use natural language processing, an AI domain, to respond to user queries. As it has gained increased attention, concerns about its use in academic, scientific, and other settings have grown.

The Ethics and Use of Generative AI

There is the promise that generative AI, like ChatGPT, can cut down on the amount of time it takes to complete a review. But you have to know the strengths and limitations of the tool you are using. Before using a generative AI tool, explore its parameters, and be skeptical about anything that seems too good to be true or removes all human intervention from a task.

  • The information provided by generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, is not always accurate. Learn about:
  • AI can be helpful for generating ideas that you vet and adapt. For example, chat tools might be beneficial to inform your research question and help you brainstorm inclusion and exclusion criteria and what terms you want in your search strategy.
  • If you ask AI a question with bias, the response will likely also contain that bias.
  • Consider how a generative AI tool performs literature searching and summarizing work:
    • Does the tool pull from actual publications? If so, does it only include open-access publications or publication abstracts? Is it limited by date?
    • What is left out and how might that impact your work?
  • AI cannot build a systematic search strategy. It may recommend articles that do not exist, and may also only include information from a limited corpus or publication date range.
  • Generative AI use can lead to AI-plagiarized writing. However, tools to detect AI-written content have been found to be unreliable.
  • Using generative AI tools requires human skill and time to review the information you receive (information that will likely not be the same if you ask the same question on a different date). Consider whether the time you spend reviewing the AI response cancels out any time you save by using generative AI.
  • On a larger scale, generative AI tools have significant environmental impacts, including the use of unsustainable amounts of energy and fresh water.

Click "Website" at the bottom of the list to view all results in PubMed.

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Generative AI Research Tools

Chart adapted with permission from Macquarie University Library.

Information is subject to change. Check each tool's website for the latest information.
The listing of a tool does not indicate endorsement by the MSK Library.
This is not a comprehensive list. For more, visit Ithaka S&R's Generative AI Tracker.

Tool Data source(s) Cost Interactive citation network map Abstract/
full-text analysis and summary		 Generates 
answers to research questions		 Allows 
upload of references/PDFs		 Integrates with referencing software
AskYourPDF PDF uploads  Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes No
Connected Papers Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades Yes, creates graphs of connected papers. No No No Export RIS files 
Consensus  Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes No Cite as APA, export BibTeX
Elicit Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes Import/export RIS files 
Enago Read Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, PubMed Central, and others Limited free version with paid upgrades No, but can suggest related papers Yes Yes Yes Import/export RIS files 
EvidenceHunt NICE guidelines, PubMed Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes No
InCiteful Semantic Scholar Free
Does not work on VPN		 Yes No No No Export RIS files 
Keenious Open Alex Limited free version with paid upgrades No No No. Recommends papers to cite based on uploaded documents Yes Export RIS files 
Lateral PDF uploads  Limited free version with paid upgrades No No, but can search and highlight uploaded PDFs. Can create literature table. No Yes Zotero integration coming soon
LitMaps Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades Yes No No No Export RIS files 
Open Evidence Clinical documents, New England Journal of Medicine publications, and more. Full list not shared. Free for verified US healthcare providers No No Yes. Generates patient handouts, prior authorization records, clinical calculations, and more. No No
Perplexity Can limit search to academic sources (which include academic press releases) via Semantic Scholar and other open-source tools Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes No
Research Rabbit Semantic Scholar Free Yes, by early work, later work and similar work No No Yes Sync with Zotero and import/export RIS files 
SciSpace Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes Import/export RIS files 
ScholarAI Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

 
Scholarcy User-uploaded papers Limited free version with paid upgrades No, but compares related research Creates structured summaries of research papers. Yes Yes

Yes. Import/export RIS files. 
Integrated with Zotero
Scholar Inbox Semantic Scholar Free No No No. Learns from your input which articles to recommend and include in regular email alerts No

No
SciSpace Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, and various publishers Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes Yes Yes

Yes, with paid version

 
Scite Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, and various publishers Cost involved Yes, by supporting and contrasting papers Yes Yes Yes

Sync with Zotero and Mendeley

Export RIS files 
Trinka  N/A Available via the MSK Library No Suggests paraphrases

No

Generates writing, grammar, and proofreading recommendations. 

 No

No
Undermind Semantic Scholar Limited free version with paid upgrades No Yes, based on abstracts for the free version and including full text for the paid version

Yes. Also asks follow-up questions to help you hone your inquiry.

 No

Can export references using the paid version