AI Index / AI tools for academic and scientific researchers / History

AI tools for academic and scientific researchers — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for ai tools for academic and scientific researchers, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

▲ INPaperpal entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTPaperguide left the top 10 (#9 → #11)
▼Paperguide moved #9 → #11
▲SciSpace moved #5 → #4
▼Synthesis moved #4 → #5
▲Connected Papers moved #10 → #9
▲Paperpal moved #11 → #10
▲SciSpace +3.5pp (53.6% → 57.1%)
▲Semantic Scholar +3.2pp (57.1% → 60.3%)
▼Synthesis -3.1pp (57.1% → 54%)
▲Connected Papers +2.9pp (30.4% → 33.3%)
▲Paperpal +2.9pp (30.4% → 33.3%)
▲Litmaps +2.8pp (32.1% → 34.9%)
▲Scite +1.4pp (44.6% → 46%)
▲Consensus +1pp (62.5% → 63.5%)
▲Research Rabbit +1pp (33.9% → 34.9%)

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

▲Research Rabbit moved #10 → #7
▲Semantic Scholar moved #5 → #3
▼Connected Papers moved #8 → #10
▼Synthesis moved #3 → #4
▼SciSpace moved #4 → #5
▼Litmaps moved #7 → #8
▼Synthesis -11.5pp (68.6% → 57.1%)
▼Connected Papers -9.6pp (40% → 30.4%)
▼Litmaps -7.9pp (40% → 32.1%)
▼Paperguide -7.9pp (40% → 32.1%)
▼SciSpace -6.4pp (60% → 53.6%)
▼Consensus -6.1pp (68.6% → 62.5%)
▼Research Rabbit -3.2pp (37.1% → 33.9%)
▲Scite +1.7pp (42.9% → 44.6%)
▼Elicit -1.4pp (80% → 78.6%)

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲SciSpace moved #5 → #4
▼Semantic Scholar moved #4 → #5
▲Litmaps moved #8 → #7
▼Connected Papers moved #7 → #8
▲Paperguide +4.3pp (35.7% → 40%)
▲Research Rabbit +3.8pp (33.3% → 37.1%)
▲SciSpace +2.9pp (57.1% → 60%)
▼Connected Papers -2.9pp (42.9% → 40%)
▼Semantic Scholar -2.4pp (59.5% → 57.1%)
▼Scite -2.3pp (45.2% → 42.9%)
▲Consensus +1.9pp (66.7% → 68.6%)
▲Synthesis +1.9pp (66.7% → 68.6%)
▲Elicit +1.4pp (78.6% → 80%)

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

▲Connected Papers moved #8 → #7
▼Litmaps moved #7 → #8
▲Connected Papers +5.8pp (37.1% → 42.9%)
▲Elicit +2.8pp (75.8% → 78.6%)
▲Litmaps +1.8pp (38.7% → 40.5%)
▲Scite +1.7pp (43.5% → 45.2%)
▲Semantic Scholar +1.4pp (58.1% → 59.5%)
▼SciSpace -1pp (58.1% → 57.1%)
▲Research Rabbit +1pp (32.3% → 33.3%)

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

▲Connected Papers moved #10 → #8
▲Consensus moved #3 → #2
▼Synthesis moved #2 → #3
▲Semantic Scholar moved #5 → #4
▼SciSpace moved #4 → #5
▲Scite moved #7 → #6
▼Litmaps moved #6 → #7
▼Paperguide moved #8 → #9
▼Research Rabbit moved #9 → #10
▲Connected Papers +4.2pp (32.9% → 37.1%)
▼SciSpace -3.7pp (61.8% → 58.1%)
▲Consensus +2.9pp (63.2% → 66.1%)
▲Scite +2.7pp (40.8% → 43.5%)
▼Paperguide -2.7pp (38.2% → 35.5%)
▲Elicit +2.1pp (73.7% → 75.8%)
▼Litmaps -2.1pp (40.8% → 38.7%)
▼Research Rabbit -1.9pp (34.2% → 32.3%)
▲Synthesis +1.6pp (64.5% → 66.1%)

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

▲ INConnected Papers entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTNotebook LM left the top 10 (#10 → #12)
▲Litmaps moved #9 → #6
▼Paperguide moved #6 → #8
▼Notebook LM moved #10 → #12
▲Consensus moved #4 → #3
▼SciSpace moved #3 → #4
▼Research Rabbit moved #8 → #9
▲Connected Papers moved #11 → #10
▼Research Rabbit -3.9pp (38.1% → 34.2%)
▲Litmaps +3.7pp (37.1% → 40.8%)
▲Elicit +3.6pp (70.1% → 73.7%)
▼Notebook LM -3.3pp (30.9% → 27.6%)
▼Paperguide -3pp (41.2% → 38.2%)
▲Consensus +2.4pp (60.8% → 63.2%)
▲Connected Papers +2pp (30.9% → 32.9%)
▼Semantic Scholar -1.9pp (59.8% → 57.9%)

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

▼Research Rabbit moved #6 → #8
▲SciSpace moved #4 → #3
▼Consensus moved #3 → #4
▲Paperguide moved #7 → #6
▲Scite moved #8 → #7
▼Research Rabbit -5.1pp (43.2% → 38.1%)
▼Consensus -3.2pp (64% → 60.8%)
▼Notebook LM -2.4pp (33.3% → 30.9%)
▼SciSpace -2.1pp (64% → 61.9%)
▼Elicit -2pp (72.1% → 70.1%)
▼Litmaps -1.6pp (38.7% → 37.1%)
▼Semantic Scholar -1.5pp (61.3% → 59.8%)
▼Paperguide -1.1pp (42.3% → 41.2%)

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1Elicit77.8%
#2Consensus63.5%
#3Semantic Scholar60.3%
#4SciSpace57.1%
#5Synthesis54%
#6Scite46%
#7Research Rabbit34.9%
#8Litmaps34.9%
#9Connected Papers33.3%
#10Paperpal33.3%

Sep 7, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v7

#1Elicit77.8%
#2Consensus63.5%
#3Semantic Scholar60.3%
#4SciSpace57.1%
#5Synthesis54%
#6Scite46%
#7Research Rabbit34.9%
#8Litmaps34.9%
#9Connected Papers33.3%
#10Paperpal33.3%

Sep 6, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v7

#1Elicit77.8%
#2Consensus63.5%
#3Semantic Scholar60.3%
#4SciSpace57.1%
#5Synthesis54%
#6Scite46%
#7Research Rabbit34.9%
#8Litmaps34.9%
#9Connected Papers33.3%
#10Paperpal33.3%

Sep 5, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v7

#1Elicit77.8%
#2Consensus63.5%
#3Semantic Scholar60.3%
#4SciSpace57.1%
#5Synthesis54%
#6Scite46%
#7Research Rabbit34.9%
#8Litmaps34.9%
#9Connected Papers33.3%
#10Paperpal33.3%

Sep 4, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v7

#1Elicit77.8%
#2Consensus63.5%
#3Semantic Scholar60.3%
#4SciSpace57.1%
#5Synthesis54%
#6Scite46%
#7Research Rabbit34.9%
#8Litmaps34.9%
#9Connected Papers33.3%
#10Paperpal33.3%

Sep 3, 202656 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v7

#1Elicit78.6%
#2Consensus62.5%
#3Semantic Scholar57.1%
#4Synthesis57.1%
#5SciSpace53.6%
#6Scite44.6%
#7Research Rabbit33.9%
#8Litmaps32.1%
#9Paperguide32.1%
#10Connected Papers30.4%

Sep 2, 202635 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v7

#1Elicit80%
#2Consensus68.6%
#3Synthesis68.6%
#4SciSpace60%
#5Semantic Scholar57.1%
#6Scite42.9%
#7Litmaps40%
#8Connected Papers40%
#9Paperguide40%
#10Research Rabbit37.1%

Sep 1, 202642 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit78.6%
#2Consensus66.7%
#3Synthesis66.7%
#4Semantic Scholar59.5%
#5SciSpace57.1%
#6Scite45.2%
#7Connected Papers42.9%
#8Litmaps40.5%
#9Paperguide35.7%
#10Research Rabbit33.3%

Aug 31, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 30, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 29, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 28, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 27, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 26, 202662 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit75.8%
#2Consensus66.1%
#3Synthesis66.1%
#4Semantic Scholar58.1%
#5SciSpace58.1%
#6Scite43.5%
#7Litmaps38.7%
#8Connected Papers37.1%
#9Paperguide35.5%
#10Research Rabbit32.3%

Aug 25, 202676 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit73.7%
#2Synthesis64.5%
#3Consensus63.2%
#4SciSpace61.8%
#5Semantic Scholar57.9%
#6Litmaps40.8%
#7Scite40.8%
#8Paperguide38.2%
#9Research Rabbit34.2%
#10Connected Papers32.9%

Aug 24, 202676 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit73.7%
#2Synthesis64.5%
#3Consensus63.2%
#4SciSpace61.8%
#5Semantic Scholar57.9%
#6Litmaps40.8%
#7Scite40.8%
#8Paperguide38.2%
#9Research Rabbit34.2%
#10Connected Papers32.9%

Aug 23, 202676 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit73.7%
#2Synthesis64.5%
#3Consensus63.2%
#4SciSpace61.8%
#5Semantic Scholar57.9%
#6Litmaps40.8%
#7Scite40.8%
#8Paperguide38.2%
#9Research Rabbit34.2%
#10Connected Papers32.9%

Aug 22, 202676 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit73.7%
#2Synthesis64.5%
#3Consensus63.2%
#4SciSpace61.8%
#5Semantic Scholar57.9%
#6Litmaps40.8%
#7Scite40.8%
#8Paperguide38.2%
#9Research Rabbit34.2%
#10Connected Papers32.9%

Aug 21, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 20, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 19, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 18, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 17, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 16, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 15, 202697 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit70.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3SciSpace61.9%
#4Consensus60.8%
#5Semantic Scholar59.8%
#6Paperguide41.2%
#7Scite41.2%
#8Research Rabbit38.1%
#9Litmaps37.1%
#10Notebook LM30.9%

Aug 14, 2026111 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4-7

#1Elicit72.1%
#2Synthesis64.9%
#3Consensus64%
#4SciSpace64%
#5Semantic Scholar61.3%
#6Research Rabbit43.2%
#7Paperguide42.3%
#8Scite40.5%
#9Litmaps38.7%
#10Notebook LM33.3%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/ai-tools-for-researchers/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]