M
MAI assistant for chat, web search, writing and images at work and home
Free, from $18/mo
AI Search toolsFull list
Answer engines and research search.
8 tools5 with a free plan4 with an API
8 tools
MM
Free, from $18/mo
M
AI assistant for chat, web search, writing and images at work and home
AI ChatbotsFree plan
P
PP
Paid
D
DD
Free
D
Private search engine, browser and Duck.ai chat for people who avoid tracking
AI SearchFree plan
S
SS
Free
S
Free AI-powered search engine for scientific papers across all fields
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
A
AA
Contact
A
AI market intelligence across filings, broker research and expert calls
AI Investing & Stock Research
M
MSearchable local snapshots of your screen history on Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs
See site
M
See site
M
Searchable local snapshots of your screen history on Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs
Personal Assistants
C
CAI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed research papers
Free, from $20/mo
C
Free, from $20/mo
C
AI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed research papers
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
E
EAI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Free, from $49/mo
E
Free, from $49/mo
E
AI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
AI Search tools compared
From each vendor's own pages, re-checked every two months. Of 6 tools we checked, 2 of 2 that state a policy don't train AI on your content.
How to choose ai search tools
Most tools in this category answer questions, but they differ in where the answers come from. Four things separate them.
What gets searched. Consensus, Elicit and Semantic Scholar focus on academic and peer-reviewed papers. Perplexity AI, Google and Microsoft Copilot search the open web. Microsoft Recall is a different kind of tool: it searches a timeline of what was on your own PC screen.
Pricing. DuckDuckGo and Semantic Scholar are listed as free, and Microsoft Copilot is freemium. Pricing for Elicit, Consensus, Perplexity AI, Google and Recall isn't confirmed in our listings, so check their sites.
Platform. Copilot and DuckDuckGo run on web, desktop and mobile. Recall is Windows-only and needs a Copilot+ PC. Most of the research tools are web-only.
API access. If you want to build search into your own app, Perplexity AI and Semantic Scholar offer APIs.
Privacy can also matter. DuckDuckGo is built for people who want to avoid tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Are there free AI search tools?
Yes. DuckDuckGo, which includes Duck.ai chat, and Semantic Scholar are listed as free. Microsoft Copilot is freemium, so it has a free tier and paid options.
How much do AI search tools cost?
Our listings don't give exact prices. Pricing is unconfirmed for Elicit, Consensus, Perplexity AI, Google and Microsoft Recall, so check each vendor's site for current plans.
What should I look for in an AI search tool?
Start with what it searches: academic papers (Consensus, Elicit, Semantic Scholar), the open web (Perplexity AI, Google, Copilot) or your own screen history (Recall). After that, look at whether it shows citations, which platforms it runs on and whether it has an API.
What are alternatives to Perplexity AI?
For web answers, the closest options here are Microsoft Copilot, Google with AI Mode and DuckDuckGo's Duck.ai. For research papers, try Consensus, Elicit or Semantic Scholar. Semantic Scholar also has an API.