There are many AI tools. Each has an open, free version, with options to pay for premium content and access, usually in terms of unlimited searching. Links below point to the free versions of each tool.
Copilot by Microsoft: Available to all Longwood faculty, staff, and students. Learn more about Copilot.
NotebookLM: This tool allows you to upload specific documents without training the chatbot / LLM. Results will be based only on the documents you upload.
BoodleBox: This tool allows you to switch between different AI tools.
There are several AI tools that utilize AI to assist with research.
Scite.AI: "Scite is an AI-powered research tool that helps researchers better discover and evaluate scientific literature through Smart Citations—a revolutionary system that shows whether articles support, contrast, or simply mention a given claim."
Consensus: "The AI-Powered Search Engine."
Research Rabbit: "AI tool for smarter, faster literature reviews." Enter references for sources on your research topic, and Research Rabbit will create webs of connections with other related works.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the landscape of research and information discovery, and libraries are at the forefront of exploring its potential to support academic work. To help faculty engage with these emerging tools, VIVA (the Virtual Library of Virginia) has arranged a trial of two AI-powered research tools: Consensus and Scite.
The trial period for each runs November 12 through February 12, and we encourage you to explore these tools and share your feedback. [something about how a feedback form will be available soon.]
Consensus – AI that synthesizes academic research: https://consensus.app/
Uses AI to extract answers directly from peer-reviewed research.
Allows users to ask natural-language questions and receive evidence-based summaries.
Highlights consensus and disagreement across studies to support critical thinking.
To access the Consensus trial:
Go to this link: https://consensus.app/ and create an account using your institutional Longwood email.
A code will be sent to your email address. Once you confirm, you will have an account connected to the trial.
To confirm that this worked, look at your account name in the bottom left corner of the Consensus Web Application. You should see a special icon next to your name indicating full access to the paid product. [Do we know what this icon will look like?]
Scite AI – Smart citation analysis: https://scite.ai/
Shows how research articles have been cited—supporting, mentioning, or contrasting.
Offers Smart Citations that provide context around each citation.
Helps researchers evaluate the reliability and impact of scientific claims.
To access the Scite trial:
On-campus: Authentication via IP address, no signup necessary.
Off-campus:
Visit https://scite.ai
Click Sign Up (top right)
Register using your institutional Longwood email address
Please bypass all Google/ORCID and credit card prompts.
The system will recognize your email as part of the VIVA trial, and you’ll be automatically be added to the trial license.
We value your input! Please use this form to provide feedback at any point during the trial: [TBD – link to be provided]
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Brent Roberts: robertsbs2@longwood.edu.