There are numerous AI tools available for academic study, teaching, and research. We've compiled a brief list below to help you get started.
Please note: AI tools are constantly evolving, with new ones emerging and free versions potentially transitioning to paid versions over time.
| Free tools | Completely free to use with all features. |
|---|---|
| Freeware tools | Includes basic functionality for free. Additional features may require payment. |
| Paid tools | Can only be used after purchasing, and agreeing to, a product licence. |
When considering the use of AI Tools be mindful of university policies/principles and expectations of their use for study and assignments.
Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning algorithms to generate new data based on existing data.
| Tool | Summary | Help and tutorials | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic's Claude | Claude is Anthropic’s LLM, designed with a focus on safety, helpfulness, and interpretability. It uses a technique called “constitutional AI” to guide its behavior based on ethical principles rather than human feedback alone. Claude is known for being conversational, cautious, and aligned with user intent, making it suitable for sensitive or nuanced tasks. | How to use the Claude Sonnet | Freeware |
| Google's Gemini | Gemini is Google’s family of multimodal AI models developed by DeepMind, designed to understand and generate text, images, audio, and code. Gemini combines deep learning techniques with reinforcement learning and retrieval-augmented generation to improve accuracy and contextual understanding. | Freeware | |
| Microsoft Copilot | Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant powered by OpenAI’s models. It helps users write, summarise, analyse data, and automate tasks using natural language. Copilot works by leveraging large language models to understand context and generate relevant, actionable content. | For further information and details on how to access Copilot please see Charles Sturt’s Microsoft Copilot | Freeware |
| OpenAI's ChatGPT | ChatGPT is OpenAI’s flagship conversational model, based on the GPT architecture (currently GPT-5). It’s designed to generate human-like text, answer questions, write code, and assist with creative and analytical tasks. | Ultimate ChatGPT 4o Guide 2024: How to use ChatGPT for beginners | Freeware |
| Perplexity | Perplexity is a conversational search engine that uses LLMs to answer questions with cited sources in real time. Unlike traditional chatbots, it focuses on transparency and accuracy by retrieving up-to-date information from the web. It blends natural language generation with search capabilities, often using models like GPT-4 or its own tuned variants. Perplexity is popular for research and fact-based queries due to its citation-first approach. | 5 Powerful Perplexity Features You Need to Use Right Now! - YouTube | Freeware |
For those undertaking more research heavy assessments, honours projects or systematic-like reviews, you may benefit from utilising some of the more research focused and literature mapping AI tools.
If you plan on publishing, some further guidance for use of these tools is provided in the Where to publish: Scholarly publishing & Generative AI LibGuide.
| Tools | Summary | Help & tutorials | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ResearchRabbit | A citation-based literature mapping tool. Add relevant seed papers to a collection to receive recommendations for related, or connected, papers. Simple keyword search function also provided. Free to use, login with a free account. | Welcome to Research Rabbit | Free |
| Semantic Scholar | AI-powered academic search and discovery tool. AI algorithms assist in discovering hidden connections and links between research topics. New Semantic Reader application contextualises citations and improves accessibility among other features. Free to use, login with a free account. | Semantic Scholar 101: search | Free |
| Connected Papers | Creates a graph that maps literature related to an inputted paper. Input using an existing article, or conduct a topic search to locate an article. Search engine is powered by Semantic Scholar. Free tier (offering 5 graphs per month) available. | How to use connected papers to find similar and relevant research literature papers/tutorial review | Freeware |
| SciSpace | Is a comprehensive academic platform providing access to over 200 million research papers. Assists researchers in discovering, understanding, writing, formatting, and publishing their research. Simplifies academic texts and ensures compliance with journal guidelines. Free to use, login with a free account. | Introducing SciSpace | Freeware |
| Keenious | An AI-based tool to help find high quality research papers to enhance your work. Analyses the downloaded article, a link to the article, a selected passage from the article or written text and recommends similar or related content. Find ideas for an essay or article. You can use Keenious directly in Word, through a web browser or in Google Docs. | Keenious product video | Freeware |
| Consensus |
An AI search engine for researchers. It's designed to streamline the literature review process by quickly summarising research findings, identifying the scientific consensus on a topic, highlighting gaps in the literature and providing citations for all insights. |
The Consensus Help Center | Freeware |
AI tools designed with teachers in mind, aimed at streamlining lesson planning and reducing administrative tasks.
| Tools | Summary | Help and tutorials | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic School AI | Designed for educators and students, offering a suite of tools to streamline tasks like lesson planning, personalised instruction, and IEP creation, ultimately aiming to enhance productivity and improve student outcomes. | MagicSchool Walkthrough with the Founder | Free version | |
| Eduaide AI |
|
Eduaide.ai quick run-through Eduaide - AI for teacher |
Freeware | |
| Goblin Tools | Magic ToDo - Input an item you have to do and it generates a list of smaller steps to help manage those big tasks. Formalizer - improves ideas/writing. Judge - helps identify tone of text. Estimates timeframe of tasks. Generates a list of tasks based on random thoughts input. Chef - Write ingredients, dietary needs, serving sizes and anything else needed to get a recipe for what you can cook. | What the tech: Goblin Tools | Free (App requires small one-off fee) | |
| ChatTube | ChatTube allows you to chat with YouTube videos in real-time using AI - ask questions, get summaries, pinpoint key points, translate content, and more. | Paid |
See Futurepedia for an ever-expanding list or check out There’s an AI for that.
Adapted from: Charles Sturt University Library. (2024). AI tools. In Using AI tools at university. Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from https://opentext.csu.edu.au/usingai
This Evaluative Framework for AI tools has been developed to help you make informed decisions when selecting a new AI tool to use. It provides you with a series of questions to ask yourself, ranging from the relevance of using an AI Tool for the task at hand to whether the use of a tool is compliant with stakeholder policies relevant to you as a researcher.
Adapted from The University of Birmingham, Barnett, J. & Bird, L. (2025). Evaluative Framework for AI Tools, Libraries and Learning Resources, The University of Birmingham. This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes were made to reflect the Australian context.
Charles Sturt University acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which its campuses are located, paying respect to Elders, both past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples.
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