Consensus AI – Get Scientific Answers in Under 60 Seconds

4.6/5

Consensus AI instantly finds evidence-based answers from scientific papers. Stop wasting hours searching and reading. Ask a question, get synthesized insights from peer-reviewed research in minutes. It cuts through information overload to deliver credible consensus fast.

Research 1255 views 5 reviews Updated August 2025
Consensus AI featured image
Freemium
Starting Price
2021
Founded
Consensus
Company

Overview

Consensus AI is an AI-powered research assistant that helps you find trustworthy, science-based answers in less than a minute. Instead of reading through dozens of papers and spending hours searching, it scans thousands of peer-reviewed studies, filters out the noise, and gives you a clear, evidence-backed answer. This solves a big pain point for students, researchers, and professionals who need quick, reliable information without the time-consuming manual process.

The platform is simple to use — just type your question, and Consensus AI searches its database of scientific literature, summarizes the key findings, and presents them in plain language. It helps reduce research stress, speeds up decision-making, and ensures you are relying on credible sources. Whether you are working on academic research, business decisions, or personal learning, Consensus AI makes accessing scientific knowledge faster, easier, and more accurate.

Key Features

Evidence-Based Answers

Scans 200M+ peer-reviewed papers to deliver direct answers with citations, saving you from reading irrelevant studies.

Consensus Meter™

Visually shows the percentage of agreement or conflict across studies, so you can quickly understand the scientific consensus.

Natural Language Queries

Understands complex questions in plain English, finding relevant studies that keyword searches often miss.

Study Snippets & Citations

Extracts key quotes, stats, and journal links from papers, giving you verifiable sources without reading the full text.

Real-Time Database

Indexes new studies daily from sources like PubMed, ensuring you get up-to-date results and don't miss recent research.

Synthesis Reports

Generates structured summaries of methodologies and results, helping you see trends across hundreds of papers.

Citation Export

Offers one-click export to Zotero, EndNote, or CSV, saving hours on manual reference formatting.

Multi-Query Analysis

Lets you efficiently compare results across related questions to explore subtopics and different angles.

Pricing Plans

Plan Price Features
Free $0 /mo
  • 10 Pro Analyses per month
  • 10 Snapshots per month
  • 10 Ask Paper messages per month
  • Unlimited bookmarks
  • Unlimited custom lists
  • Unlimited searches across over 200M research papers
  • Unlimited research quality indicators
Premium $11.99 /mo
  • Everything in Free, plus...
  • Unlimited Pro Analyses
  • Unlimited Snapshots
  • Unlimited Ask Paper messages
  • More features launching every month
Teams $12.99 per seat/mo
  • Everything in Premium plus...
  • Discounts up to 200 seats
  • Manage accounts for your organization
  • Centralized billing
  • Coming Soon: Consensus Search API
Enterprise Custom
  • Custom packages:
  • Massive discounts
  • Integrate with your research library
  • Manage thousands of users
  • Dedicated support

Version History

Version 3.0 (Current Version) (June 2024)

The latest version introduced an AI Hypothesis Generator, global language support, API access, and full feature parity on mobile apps.

Version 2.5 (Collaboration & PDF Access) (Winter 2024)

This update added in-app PDF access for Pro users, shared workspaces for teams, and support for preprint servers like bioRxiv.

Version 2.0 (Major Overhaul) (October 2023)

A major update introduced Synthesis Reports, a real-time database, and mobile apps for iOS/Android, transforming the user experience.

Version 1.5 (Database Expansion) (Spring 2023)

The database expanded to over 200 million papers, and new features like Study Snippets and Zotero/EndNote integration were added.

Version 1.0 (Beta Launch) (January 2023)

The initial beta was released with basic natural language queries, a simple Consensus Meter, and access to over 50 million papers.

Pre-Launch & Seed Funding (2022)

Founded by Eric Olson and Christian Salem, the company raised $3.2M in seed funding to eliminate inefficient literature reviews.

Use Cases

For Academic Researchers

Conduct literature reviews for grants and publications, cutting research time by over 70% by instantly identifying consensus and conflicts.

For Clinicians & Doctors

Get fast, evidence-based answers to patient questions during shifts, replacing frantic PubMed searches with summaries in minutes.

For Science Writers

Quickly fact-check articles and create evidence-based content by verifying claims with peer-reviewed sources in seconds.

For PhD & Grad Students

Write thesis chapters and identify research gaps by analyzing dozens of studies and exporting citations in minutes, not hours.

For Public Health Professionals

Evaluate health policies by synthesizing global studies and highlighting regional variations, avoiding oversimplified search results.

For Industry R&D Teams

Perform competitor analysis and technology scouting by comparing innovations across 50+ studies to find key papers and patents.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Saves a dramatic amount of time by replacing manual searches with instant, synthesized answers.
  • Provides credible, peer-reviewed sources, filtering out misinformation from blogs or unreliable journals.
  • Understands complex questions in plain English, finding relevant studies that keyword searches often miss.
  • The Consensus Meter™ quickly shows the level of agreement across studies on a specific topic.
  • One-click citation export to tools like Zotero and EndNote saves hours of manual formatting.

Cons

  • The free version is quite limited, often requiring an upgrade to access full papers and critical information.
  • Can sometimes miss the very latest research or preprints, with results occasionally lagging behind PubMed.
  • May oversimplify complex topics or downplay conflicting evidence in its summaries.
  • Coverage for highly niche or specialized research topics can be minimal.
  • Lacks collaboration features, making it difficult for research teams to share work.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Consensus AI save time compared to traditional research?

Consensus scans millions of peer-reviewed studies in seconds. Instead of spending hours sifting through papers, you can ask a question and get evidence-based summaries with citations in minutes, saving users 5-15 hours per task.

Can I trust the answers from Consensus AI?

Yes, Consensus exclusively uses peer-reviewed journals and provides direct quotes, study links, and a 'Consensus Meter' to show the level of agreement across studies. It does not use unverified sources like blog posts.

How does it handle conflicting research?

It highlights disagreements and nuances in the research, such as showing the percentage of studies with conflicting results or noting differences in methodology. It presents the full spectrum of evidence rather than oversimplifying it.

Is Consensus AI only for academics?

No, it's designed for a wide range of users including students, clinicians, writers, and other professionals who need quick, evidence-based answers. Its summaries are written to be clear and avoid jargon.

Does it work for recent research?

Yes, it indexes new studies daily from top journals. While it might occasionally miss very recent preprints, peer-reviewed papers are typically added within days of their publication.

How does it compare to Google Scholar or PubMed?

Unlike keyword-based search engines that can return thousands of results, Consensus filters out the noise and synthesizes answers. You get a few key summaries with consensus levels instead of hundreds of abstracts to read.

Can I export citations or full studies?

Yes, you can export citations to Zotero, EndNote, or as a CSV file. Paid plans also offer access to full-text PDFs, while the free plan provides abstracts and links to the journal pages.

What are the limitations of Consensus AI?

The free tier has limited access to full-text articles and advanced queries. The AI may also occasionally misinterpret highly complex statistical terms, and it does not index preprints until they are peer-reviewed.

User Reviews

Dr. Aisha B.

AI That Actually Understands Nuance

Asked: 'Do vaccine mandates reduce COVID transmission?' Consensus synthesized 17 global studies, noting regional variations. It solved my pain point of oversimplified Google results. Lost one star because it occasionally misinterprets complex statistical terms. Still, the best tool for rapid evidence synthesis.

Source: Software Advice

James L.

Finally Understand Scientific Consensus Fast

My thesis on 'keto diet longevity' was stuck until Consensus. It analyzed 22 studies, highlighted conflicting results (e.g., mouse vs. human data), and summarized consensus in 7 minutes. Pain point solved: No more reading 200 abstracts. The citation export saved me 10+ hours. Essential for grad students!

Source: Capterra

Priya K.

Game-Changer for Evidence-Based Content

Writing about 'microplastics in human blood'? Consensus delivered 8 key studies with direct quotes and journal links in 4 minutes. It solved my pain point of spending days verifying sources. The 'Consensus Meter' (showing 92% agreement) was perfect for headlines. Only wish: Export to PDF. Still, cut research time by 80%.

Source: Product Hunt

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