9 AI Research Assistants for Papers, Markets and More
Get cited answers for market, competitor and paper research.
Key Takeaways
- Free deep research: Gemini Deep Research
- Best for papers: Elicit and Undermind
- Web research with models: Kagi Assistant
- Fully free: Semantic Scholar
The 9 best AI research assistants in 2026 help you research markets, competitors and academic papers.
Top 9 AI research assistants at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Claude | Deep research tasks | Yes, but Research is not included |
| 2. Gemini Deep Research | Free deep research | Yes |
| 3. Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) | Research on your files | Not stated |
| 4. Elicit | Scientific papers | Yes, limited |
| 5. Consensus | Peer-reviewed papers | Yes |
| 6. Undermind | Deep paper searches | Yes |
| 7. Kagi Assistant | Web research with models | Trial only |
| 8. Semantic Scholar | Free paper search | Yes, fully free |
| 9. Scite | Checking citations | No, 7-day trial |
Jump toClaudeGemini Deep ResearchGemini NotebookElicitConsensusUndermindKagi AssistantSemantic ScholarScite
The 9 best AI research assistants in 2026
1. Claude
Research is part of the Claude paid plans. It is included on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, not on Free.
Best for: Deep research tasks
Free plan: Free plan does not include Research
Price: Pro is $17/month with annual billing or $20 monthly
Website: claude.com
2. Gemini Deep Research
Google describes it as a personal research assistant. It can draw on your Gmail, Drive and Chat as well as the web.
Best for: Free deep research
Free plan: Yes
Price: Free plan includes Deep Research; Google AI Plus $4.99/month, AI Pro $19.99/month
Website: gemini.google
3. Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
Google titles it an AI research tool and thinking partner. It was renamed from NotebookLM in July 2026.
Best for: Research on your files
Free plan: Not stated on the Gemini Notebook homepage
Price: Not stated on the Gemini Notebook homepage
Website: notebook.google
4. Elicit
Elicit helps you synthesize evidence from academic papers. It supports its AI-generated claims with sentence-level citations.
Best for: Scientific papers
Free plan: Basic is free with limited usage of the Research Agent and Research Reports
Price: Pro $49/user/month (billed $588 annually); Scale $229/user/month (billed $2,748 annually)
Website: elicit.com
5. Consensus
Consensus is an AI academic search engine for peer-reviewed literature, with 400M+ papers. It offers Pro Search and Deep Search modes.
Best for: Peer-reviewed papers
Free plan: Free to access
Price: Plans listed on the Consensus website
Website: consensus.app
6. Undermind
Undermind finds papers you might miss and lets you follow in-line citations back to the source paper.
Best for: Deep paper searches
Free plan: Free plan for exploratory research
Price: Pro $16/month billed annually; Team $15/person/month billed annually
Website: undermind.ai
7. Kagi Assistant
Kagi Assistant combines large language models from many providers with optional results from Kagi Search. You can upload files and save threads.
Best for: Web research with models
Free plan: Free trial with 100 searches and 100 Assistant interactions
Price: Starter $5, Professional $10 and Ultimate $25 per month; Ultimate adds Research mode
Website: kagi.com
8. Semantic Scholar
Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, run by Ai2. It searches over 240 million papers.
Best for: Free paper search
Free plan: Free to use
Price: Free
Website: semanticscholar.org
9. Scite
Scite's Smart Citations show whether later research supports or contradicts a finding. It reads across 323M+ full-text scholarly articles.
Best for: Checking citations
Free plan: 7-day free trial of premium features
Price: Basic $12/month and Pro $40/month, both billed yearly
Website: scite.ai
The best free AI research assistant
Gemini Deep Research and Semantic Scholar are the easiest free starting points. Elicit and Undermind also have free plans.
AI research assistants for market research
For market and competitor research, start with Gemini Deep Research, Claude or Kagi Assistant. Elicit, Consensus, Undermind, Semantic Scholar and Scite are built around academic papers.
Final verdict
Pick Gemini Deep Research for free web research, and Elicit or Undermind if your questions are about papers. Try one free plan with a question you already know the answer to, then open the cited sources before you trust the result.
