Bentley Reference librarians are here to assist. Contact us for research help:
| In Person | Click here for Reference Desk Hours. |
| Phone | 781.891.2300 |
| Text | 781.728.0511 |
| refdesk@bentley.edu |
You can also Chat/IM with a librarian:
Research Consultations with a librarian are also available. Schedule an appointment here. 48 hours advance notice appreciated.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is wide-ranging, changing how we work, learn, research, and conduct our everyday lives. AI tools for research are constantly developing and improving. Some use generative AI to support pre-research, like brainstorming topics, defining terms, or planning presentations. Other tools summarize articles, connect scholars with one another based on analogous research, or create visualizations that map similar academic papers in the field. Whatever AI tool you choose, it is essential that you doublecheck Bentley Library research databases and other authoritative information resources to be sure you have not missed important information on your topic.
AI Tools for Research: A comparison
|
NAME |
WHAT IT DOES |
HOW DOES IT FIND INFORMATION? |
IS IT FREE? |
MORE INFORMATION |
|
search for research papers on a particular academic topic |
uses Semantic Scholar to search over 125 million academic papers |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
search the web for articles, websites, journals to produce AI-generated answers |
uses AI to search the web in real time |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
uses purpose-built search technology (Vector search) to turn up research papers |
partners with Semantic Scholar to search over 200 million academic papers |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
index of over 200 million academic papers sourced from publisher partnerships, data providers, and web crawls |
Semantic Scholar database of over 200 million research papers |
free |
||
|
citation-based mapping tool that provides visualization to similar papers across academic fields |
uses AI to search user-generated contributions found in multiple academic databases |
free |
||
|
citation-based mapping tool that builds a graph of similar papers in the field |
uses Semantic Scholar to search over 50,000 papers |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
summarization and article management tool |
uses AI to summarize and organize articles uploaded by user |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
brainstorming, generating text and code, translating languages, analyzing images |
uses AI to draft and iterate on websites, graphics, documents, and code alongside chat |
free and paid subscription models |
||
|
used for brainstorming research topics, finding quick facts, or seeking advice. |
uses AI chatbot to create human-like answers to questions; free version last updated in 2021 |
free and paid subscription models |
citing sources* |
|
|
Google’s AI-powered chatbot, similar to Open AI’s ChatGPT. |
responds using the information it already knows or fetches from other internet sources, such as Google |
free and paid subscription models for business |
citing sources* |
*How to cite AI-generated content: Find excellent examples of citing sources using APA, MLA, Chicago, and other styles from the Libraries and School of Information Studies at Purdue University.
I would like to thank Jing Lu at Purdue University Libraries for the design of this chart.