Elicit

Elicit is an artificial intelligence research assistant designed for academic literature, systematic reviews, and evidence gathering. It takes the form of a web-based platform that allows users to search a massive corpus of academic papers and clinical trials, summarize findings, and extract data into structured formats. The product is aimed at researchers, students, and professionals who need to perform rigorous literature reviews and high-stakes scientific analysis rather than casual web searches.

• Semantic search across more than 138 million academic papers and 545,000 clinical trials
• Automated research report generation based on systematic review processes with fully cited artifacts
• Extraction of findings and data into comparison tables with adjustable column limits
• Chat capabilities with papers that have full-text access, including source attribution
• A dedicated Systematic Review Workflow capable of screening up to 40,000 papers on enterprise plans
• Support for custom extractions from uploaded papers and internal documents
• Personalized research alerts and export options including RIS, CSV, BIB, PDF, and DOCX formats

Pros

• Strong capability in semantic search allows users to find relevant academic results without knowing precise keyword combinations
• Automated table extraction reduces the manual effort required to pull specific data points and variables across multiple research papers
• Systematic review workflows support rigorous screening and evidence gathering for large-scale academic literature projects
• Integration capabilities with reference management tools like Zotero simplify importing and organizing literature

Cons

• Free Basic tier has limited usage caps for the Research Agent and Research Reports features
• Higher tier plans are required to unlock advanced features like live collaboration, custom templates, and larger table column additions
• Data source caps vary significantly by plan, limiting the scope of extractions on lower-tier paid options
• Advanced enterprise features such as single sign-on, 2FA, and custom deployments require custom enterprise quotes

Elicit fits academic researchers, scientific investigators, and industry professionals conducting comprehensive literature reviews, systematic evidence gathering, and data extraction from large corpuses of studies. It is well-suited for teams requiring automated research briefs, structured comparison tables, and automated paper screening workflows. Conversely, it is a poor fit for casual web searches or general-purpose document analysis that does not involve academic literature or scientific research databases.

Elicit operates on a freemium subscription model with monthly and yearly billing options across multiple tiers. The Basic tier is free for casual exploration with limited usage for the Research Agent and Research Reports, alongside unlimited search and summaries. The Plus tier costs $11 per user per month billed annually as $132, or a monthly rate. The Pro tier is priced at $39 or $49 per user per month depending on the specific billing configuration, billed as $480 or $588 annually, adding systematic literature review workflows and custom extractions. The Scale tier costs $89 per user per month, billed as $1,068 annually, offering team collaboration features and higher extraction limits. An Enterprise tier provides custom pricing and usage for large organizations with advanced security controls and dedicated customer success.

Unlike standard search engines or general-purpose AI chat tools, Elicit is built specifically for scientific research and academic literature workflows. It combines semantic search across millions of peer-reviewed papers with structured extraction tables and automated report generation inspired by systematic reviews. Rather than merely chatting with a single uploaded document, Elicit functions as a research agent that can gather evidence across massive academic databases, clinical trials, and internal files.

Elicit integrates with Zotero for importing references and supports exporting data to RIS, CSV, BIB, PDF, and DOCX file formats. It works with scientific databases, academic journals, public data sources, and internally uploaded documents, with higher plans offering API access and custom data source integrations.

Elicit is worth trying for researchers and teams who regularly conduct academic literature searches and systematic reviews. The free Basic tier offers broad search and summary capabilities for casual exploration without upfront cost. However, users requiring heavy systematic review workflows, team collaboration, or extensive custom extractions will need to subscribe to one of the paid tiers.