Consensus
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine designed to streamline academic and scientific research. This engine utilizes AI and semantic search technolog...
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What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine built on a database of over 220-250 million peer-reviewed research papers. Unlike general AI tools, every response is tied back to a real research paper and is grounded in scientific research. It helps researchers, students, and clinicians quickly review literature and understand complex topics faster by finding and synthesizing evidence-backed answers.
Key features include the Consensus Meter, which visualizes agreement/disagreement in literature for yes-or-no questions; Pro Analysis for summarizing key findings from top papers with citations; Ask Paper for chatting directly with full-text PDFs; Study Snapshots that extract methodology and outcomes; advanced AI-powered search filters; and the ability to save papers into custom lists. It also offers Deep Search for automating comprehensive literature reviews, Medical mode for clinical answers, multilingual support in 100+ languages, and integration with reference managers like Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley.
Consensus is designed for researchers, students, academics, clinicians, and professionals who need credible, evidence-based insights from peer-reviewed scientific literature. Over 10 million users worldwide and 170 university libraries trust Consensus for supercharging literature reviews without sacrificing academic rigor.
Consensus pricing
Pricing model: Free
Consensus offers a Free tier at $0/month with 3 Deep Searches per month, 25 Pro Analyses per month, 10 Study Snapshots per month, 10 Ask Paper messages per month, unlimited searches, bookmarks, and custom lists. The Pro Subscription costs $15/month (monthly billing) or $120/year billed annually ($10/month equivalent), unlocking 15 Deep Searches per month, unlimited Pro Analyses, unlimited Study Snapshots, unlimited Ask Paper messages, unlimited bookmarks and custom lists. The Deep Plan costs $65/month or $540/year ($45/month equivalent) with 200 Deep Searches per month plus all Pro features. Teams Plan offers custom pricing for 2-200 members with centralized billing and bulk discounts. Students get a 40% discount with verified .edu or .ac email at $9/month. Enterprise Plan requires custom quote for organizations over 200 users.
Consensus pros
- Searches only peer-reviewed scientific research, never blogs or news sites
- Every response tied to real research papers with citations
- Database covers 220-250 million research papers from leading publishers
- Consensus Meter provides visual read on scientific agreement for yes/no questions
- Pro Analysis synthesizes key findings from top papers with citations
- Ask Paper lets you chat directly with full-text PDF papers
- Study Snapshots extract methodology, sample size, and outcomes instantly
- Advanced AI-powered filters for date, study type, sample size, journal quartile
- Deep Search automates comprehensive literature reviews in minutes
- Medical mode narrows results to 8M articles from top 1,000 medical journals
- Supports searches in over 100 languages with multilingual AI responses
- Export citations to Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley seamlessly
- Save and organize papers into unlimited custom lists
- Search History maintains context across multi-query search sessions
- Over 10 million researchers, students, and clinicians already use it
- 170 university libraries partner to provide access to students and faculty
- Does not train AI models with user data or share data with third parties
Consensus cons
- Freemium model limits free tier features significantly
- Free tier only includes 3 Deep Searches per month
- Free tier limits Pro Analyses to 25 per month
- Free tier limits Ask Paper messages to 10 per month
- Not designed for general knowledge queries like capital cities
- Consensus Meter is still in Beta with occasional misclassifications
- Ask Paper feature is in Beta with limited paper availability
- Paid plans can be expensive for individual users at $15/month
Frequently asked questions about Consensus
What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine built on a database of over 220 million peer-reviewed research papers. Unlike general AI tools, every response is tied back to a real research paper and is grounded in scientific research. It helps you quickly review the literature and understand complex topics faster.
How does Consensus work?
Consensus uses AI to find high-quality scientific research through three steps: First, it searches over 220 million papers using semantic search and keyword search to understand your question. Second, it narrows to the top 1,500 results ranked by recency, citation count, and journal quality. Third, it uses a powerful AI model to re-rank the top 20 papers for accurate, trustworthy results.
What are the main features of Consensus?
Main features include: Pro Analysis for summarizing key findings with citations; Consensus Meter for visualizing agreement on yes/no questions; Advanced Search Filters for AI-powered refinement; Study Snapshot for extracting methodology and outcomes; Ask Paper for chatting with full-text PDFs; Save Lists for organizing papers; Search History; Integration with reference managers like Zotero and EndNote; Research Hub for uploading PDFs; and Threads for follow-up questions.
How should I format my search query?
There's no single right way - you can use keywords, phrases, or natural language questions. Yes/no questions generate the Consensus Meter to show agreement across research. Conversational prompts with Pro Analysis let you customize output like creating tables, bulleted lists, or explaining simply. You can also combine multiple facets for complex queries or request format-specific outputs like bullet points.
Can I use Consensus for free?
Yes, Consensus offers a free tier that allows you to explore features including 3 Deep Searches per month, 25 Pro Analyses per month, 10 Study Snapshots per month, 10 Ask Paper messages per month, and unlimited searches with bookmarks and custom lists. However, upgrading to Pro unlocks unlimited use of all advanced AI features.
Does Consensus train AI models with user data?
No. Consensus does not use your data to train any AI models. They do not share any user data with third parties and do not use user data to train their own AI systems. All user data is anonymized and kept private. They are committed to keeping user data private and protected.
What is the Consensus Meter?
The Consensus Meter uses AI to analyze and visualize the level of agreement or disagreement in literature for yes-or-no questions. It runs over the first 20 results and classifies answers as indicating 'yes', 'no', or 'possibly' in a clean, aggregated interface. Think of it as an AI-powered scientist that sifts through top papers and tells you what they say. It's currently in Beta.
What is Ask Paper?
Ask Paper is a beta feature that lets you chat directly with the full text of research papers. You can ask clarifying questions about methodology, specific charts, findings, and more to receive in-depth answers. It's available with limited messages on the free tier (10 per month) and unlimited on Pro subscription.
Does Consensus support multiple languages?
Yes, Consensus supports searches in over 100 languages. You can type queries in your native language and the platform translates and retrieves pertinent academic papers regardless of original language. Additionally, 31 language options are available for translating Pro Analysis responses, summaries, and Paper Takeaways through account settings.
What is Deep Search?
Deep Search automates literature reviews by building comprehensive search strategies. It expands key terms, identifies conflicting arguments, and explores the citation graph to turn days of literature review into minutes. The free tier includes 3 Deep Searches per month, Pro includes 15 per month, and Deep Plan includes 200 per month.