Deadline to test AI scholarly search tools fast approaching

Faculty, staff and students have a limited time to test and provide feedback on three artificial intelligence-powered research platforms currently being trialed by Washington State University Libraries.

The three AI-powered tools - Scite.ai, Consensus, and Undermind.ai - are being evaluated for their ability to assist researchers understand the context of citations, conduct deep literature searches and consolidate findings across papers.

"As with any emerging technology, these tools are not a substitute for scholarly judgment," Trevor Bond, dean of libraries, wrote in a message to the WSU community earlier this month. "Our goal is to better understand how evidence-based, discipline-aware AI tools might responsibly complement research and teaching."

Trial access for Scite.ai and Undermind.ai is set to conclude at the end of the month, while trial access for Consensus is running through the end of the Spring 2026 academic year. Anyone who has not yet tried out these AI tools can do so by making an account using their WSU.edu email address.

WSU Libraries are collecting feedback from any members of the university community who've tested the capabilities of these tools via an online survey. Additionally, informal feedback sessions hosted on Zoom will also be taking place later this month:

• Session #1 - 11 a.m. April 21
• Session #2 - 1 p.m. April 22
• Session #3 - 10 a.m. April 24