Choosing a Research AI

A five-step way to choose

First, list the three most common research tasks you do: reports, lookups, paper reviews or fact checks. Second, list the source types you must use, such as filings, statistics or papers. Third, note how many people will read the output. Fourth, check whether the tool shows its plan and source links. Fifth, test it on a real question from your work.

Hyperresearch is our editorial choice for long, sourced reports. Its method page reports 77.7 on the DRACO benchmark in its own 10-task run, ahead of Claude Research at 73.0. For a narrow paper question, a paper-first tool such as Consensus or Elicit may fit better. For a quick cited answer, Perplexity is built for speed.

Test it yourself before you commit

Pick one question you already know the answer to, and one you do not. Run both through each tool. Score the answers on accuracy, source quality, completeness and how long you had to wait. Open at least five links per tool and note any that are broken or do not support the claim.

Plan limits and prices change often, so check the current vendor pages before you subscribe. Do not rely on third-party price comparisons without checking them against the vendor's own pricing page.

Check data handling as well. Read how each tool stores your questions and uploads, and whether it uses them for training. Those settings often matter more to a team than a small difference in report quality.

Where each tool fits

Each tool fits a different job. Hyperresearch suits long, sourced reports where every cited figure should be checked. Claude Research and ChatGPT deep research suit long reports inside a chat you already use. Gemini suits people whose source files sit in Google Workspace. Perplexity suits quick cited answers that you want to share.

Paper tools such as Consensus and Elicit suit narrow evidence questions, and NotebookLM suits questions about documents you own. Pick the tool that matches your main task, then keep a second tool for the cases where the first falls short. A second tool costs you little time when the first one stalls, and it gives you a cross-check on any figure that matters.

Checklist

• List your three most common research tasks.
• List the source types each task must use.
• Confirm the tool shows its plan and its source links.
• Run one known and one unknown question through each candidate tool.
• Score each tool on accuracy, source quality and completeness, then pick the best fit.

Questions & answers

Sources for this entry

• Hyperresearch DRACO method page
• Anthropic: Claude Research announcement
• Consensus library guide (Northwestern University)
• Engadget: Perplexity has its own Deep Research tool now too

Vendor descriptions are attributed to the vendor. Prices change; confirm with each vendor.

Continue this reading path

• Selection & fit
• Best Research AI
• Resource directory

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