Elicit

Elicit is an AI-powered research assistant that pulls key findings from academic papers in seconds.

How to use Elicit

1. Create a free account at elicit.org and open a new project.
2. Type a research question—Elicit converts it into a database search across multiple scholarly sources.
3. Scan the auto-generated table that lists papers, abstracts, sample sizes, outcomes, and other handy details.
4. Click any row to view a concise summary or extract specific data points, such as methodologies or participant demographics.
5. Export the table to CSV or copy it into your reference manager for further analysis.

A week with Elicit

Advantages

• Rapid discovery: For every literature review I tried, the tool surfaced relevant papers that I had missed through Google Scholar.
• Multi-paper extraction: It lined up sample sizes, effect sizes, and key outcomes side by side, saving me hours of manual spreadsheet work.
• Clear summaries: The one-paragraph abstracts and automatic highlight of limitations made skimming effortless.
• Research matrix feature: I could ask follow-up questions such as “Which studies used randomised designs?” and get an instant filtered list.
• Free tier: Casual projects cost nothing, which lowers the barrier for students or early-career researchers.

Drawbacks

• Narrow workflow: The platform still centres almost entirely on literature reviews, so tasks like grant proposal drafting require work-arounds.
• Occasional gaps: Some paywalled papers show limited metadata, forcing a manual hunt for full texts.
• Model hiccups: On complex statistical questions, the answer panel sometimes returns vague statements rather than firm numbers.
• No citation manager sync: Direct export to Zotero or Mendeley is missing, leading to extra copy-paste steps.

I came away impressed by how quickly Elicit turns a broad question into a curated reading list and a structured evidence table; if your research involves trawling through dozens of studies, this helper trims the slog while still letting you stay in control of the critical appraisal.