GenAI Research Assistants

GenAI research assistants are AI-powered tools that are designed to support the early stages of the research process. They act as a starting point for searching for literature. They do not help you perform comprehensive or systematic literature searches. For this reason, we recommend that you use these tools to complement, rather than replace, traditional search tools. Check out your Search Techniques guide for more information.

Here are some examples of GenAI research assistants:

Please note:

• This resource will summarise the uses of some research assistants, but it does not recommend any single tool, nor does the University subscribe to any of these tools. The goal is for you to select which tools you want to use to suit your needs/ purposes.​ Please bear in mind that most of these tools have limited free access.
• Always check your assessment brief to see if you’re allowed to use GenAI and what for.​

Limitations of GenAI research assistants

Before we go into their uses in more detail, it's important to be aware of some of the limitations of using GenAI research assistants:

1. They don't always summarise accurately. Like any GenAI tool, they can make mistakes. Check out your guide to using GenAI outputs critically.

2. GenAI research assistants don't search ALL available sources; they only search the sources within specific search engines or databases they have access to. In particular, they may not be able to access resources that you can access through the University's subscriptions. This means their outputs may not include all of the information you might be looking for.

3. Overreliance on GenAI tools like research assistants may prevent your learning and skills development. It's important to learn how to identify, understand, and critically analyse sources for yourself. Check out your guides to Search Techniques and critical reading.

For more detail, you can read the overview of Responsible AI and Limitations by Consensus, or Elicit's limitations.