BotTasks / Research
Best AI tool for research
One decision, not a directory.
Perplexity
AI answer engine with cited sources.
Free tierFree tier, paid from ~$20/moResearch
NotebookLM
Chat with your sources and generate audio overviews.
Free tierFree, with higher limits in Google plansResearch
- Go to perplexity.ai and ask your question as a full sentence with the context you care about.
- Open the cited sources for any claim you plan to rely on.
- Ask follow-up questions in the same thread to narrow down (by date, region, or source type).
- Use the deeper research mode for multi-part questions that need a longer report.
- Save useful threads into a Space so related research stays together.
Why Perplexity
Perplexity answers with numbered citations to live web sources, so you can verify claims quickly instead of trusting an unsourced answer.
When to choose NotebookLM instead
Choose NotebookLM when your research is based on your own documents (papers, PDFs, notes) and you want answers grounded only in them.
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Pricing at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Free tier |
|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | Free tier, paid from ~$20/mo | Yes |
| NotebookLM | Free, with higher limits in Google plans | Yes |
| Elicit | Free Basic plan; Plus from $11/user/mo billed annually | Yes |
| ChatGPT | Free tier; paid plans (Go, Plus, Pro, Business) | Yes |
| Claude | Free tier; Pro $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually) | Yes |
Pricing changes often; check the official site before buying.
FAQ
What is the best AI tool for research?
Our pick is Perplexity: AI answer engine with cited sources. Pricing: Free tier, paid from ~$20/mo.
When should I choose NotebookLM instead?
Choose NotebookLM when your research is based on your own documents (papers, PDFs, notes) and you want answers grounded only in them.
Does Perplexity have a free plan?
Yes. Perplexity: Free tier, paid from ~$20/mo.