Keenious

Keenious is an AI-powered research assistant and companion designed to explore academic literature based on the text a user is working on. It acts as a tool to help students, researchers, and librarians discover published research, explain complex methodologies, and interact with literature across multiple languages. The product takes the form of extensions and add-ins for platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs, as well as a web browser interface.

• Recommends relevant academic literature based on the text you are working on from a database of 250+ million academic works from OpenAlex
• AI-powered explanations of complex methodologies, statistical concepts, and domain-specific terminology via text highlighting and chat
• Multilingual support allowing users to interact in nearly 100 languages and discover research from 100+ countries
• Integration with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and web browsers
• Open access identification through Unpaywall integration and monthly database updates
• PDF uploads supporting files up to 20MB, with automatic deletion after 1 day for privacy
• Export capabilities for search results into formats like RIS and BibTeX on paid plans
• Institutional library integration via link resolver support for platforms such as EBSCO and PRIMO

Pros

• Provides direct access to a vast database of 250 million academic works covering all disciplines, helping users find real published papers.
• Bridges language barriers by allowing users to ask questions in nearly 100 languages while keeping original research authentic.
• Supports academic workflows directly inside common writing tools like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
• Focuses on building genuine comprehension skills by explaining concepts rather than generating writing or doing the analysis for the user.

Cons

• Free tier users face strict usage limits including 3 AI responses per conversation, 3 conversations per day, and a 3MB max file upload size.
• The system currently does not support a direct switch from an Individual to a Team plan.
• PDF file uploads are automatically deleted after 1 day, which requires re-uploading if referenced across multiple days.
• At present, Keenious Plus does not feature a trial period.

Keenious fits students navigating research assignments, researchers expanding literature reviews across languages, and librarians seeking to make subscribed resources discoverable. It is tailored for academic environments, universities, and individual writers needing literature recommendations. It is a poor fit for users looking for an AI writing tool to automatically generate content or papers, as Keenious explicitly focuses on finding real literature and building comprehension rather than doing the analysis or writing for the user.

Keenious uses a freemium model with a free tier and paid plans above it. The Free tier costs €0 per month and includes core features with limits of 5 AI responses per conversation, 3 conversations per day, and a 3MB max file upload size. The Individual Plus tier starts at €10 per month when billed annually, offering expanded results, unlimited responses and conversations, and a 20MB max file upload size. The Team Plus plan starts at €20 per user per month when billed annually and adds admin consoles, centralised billing, and 2FA. Institutional pricing for universities is available upon contact and includes SSO, SAML, IP-based access, and library collection linking. A 30% annual student discount is available upon verification via an educational email.

Unlike general AI tools like ChatGPT or automated writing assistants that generate text, Keenious focuses entirely on showing real academic papers and helping users understand them. Rather than creating dependencies or writing content for the user, Keenious provides transparent AI guidance that highlights how searches are performed and points directly to published literature. Additionally, it features specific integration with institutional library systems and link resolvers like EBSCO and PRIMO, which standard AI chatbots do not offer.

Microsoft Word, Google Docs, web browsers, OpenAlex, Unpaywall, EBSCO, and PRIMO link resolvers.