LibGuides: Generative AI : AI tools

Different kinds of tools

There are a lot of different kinds of AI based tools out there. On this page we will examine a small selection of such tools. Please note that the tools mentioned in this guide should not be considered recommendations from the library. It is simply a selection of the tools we have tried out. This subject guide is meant to be used as a guideline for someone interested in examining how different AI tools work, and if/when they can be used.

Progress is fast in this area and some of the information in this list might be inaccurate - if so, please let us know!

As a student and as an employee at Karlstad University you have access to Copilot through your KauID. At the library we can help you get better at using Copilot.

A lot of tools work kind of like a Swiss knife - they are useful for a lot of different things. We have tried sorting them somewhat into categories in this guide, but don't be limited by our suggestions. Updated: March 24th 2025.

Search

Here are some of all the tools available for academic information search. Please observe that these are not recommendations, but simply a selection of different tools that we have tried out. The library does not offer support on these tools. Updated November 6 2024.

Tool	Area of use	Free/free base version	Strengths	/comment
Semantic Scholar	Database-like search tool for scholarly information.	Free. You can create an account to save references and get recommendations for similar research.	Easy to use, can sort by subject, can connect to EndNote and Zotero. With an account you can also mark non-relevant hits for more precision.	Includes about 224 million references to different research publications. Also includes student essays and questionable publications, so make sure to check your sources.
ResearchRabbit	Find forward and backward citations to articles you've already found, find connections to other research etc.	Free. You need to create an account.	Gives a quick overview of research, can be connected to Zotero.	Useful for those writing their essay, based on Semantic Scholar.
Consensus	Ask questions, get summaries, and find research.	The base version is free, but limited compared to the paid version. You need to create an account.	Easy to use, gives a quick overview and summary. More filtering options than Semantic Scholar.	Based on Semantic Scholar.
Elicit	Search tool for scholarly information with analysis of articles.	The base version is free, but limited. You need to create an account.	Easy to search. The paid for version can be used to highlight the relevant parts of articles and create personal filters.	There are four different types of accounts, three are paid for. The paid for alternatives have a lot more options to extract information, as well as a feature to chat with an article. Based on Semantic Scholar.
Connected papers	Focus on research. A visual tool to find more research from one source.	Limited free-version.	Easy to use. Find more papers from one relevant source.	Based on Semantic Scholar.

Write

Here are some of all the tools available for academic writing. Remember that a lot of work happens through writing when you have to think about how to express yourself. The library does not offer support in any of these tools.

Tool	Area of use	Free/free base version	Strengths	/comment
DeepL	Translation, etc.	Limited free version, payed-for Pro version.	Languange and translations.
Jenni	Writing tool.	There is a free version, but you need to create an account.	Writes text based on your instructions.	Use with great caution. As with many other AI tools, it writes with a lot of "fluff".
Grammarly	An app focused on correcting and improving different types of texts.	There is a free version, but you need to create an account. The paid for version has a lot more features.	Enhances your text both grammatically and stylistically.

Tool

Area of use

Free/free base version

Strengths

/comment

DeepL

Translation, etc.

Limited free version, payed-for Pro version.

Languange and translations.

Jenni

Writing tool.

There is a free version, but you need to create an account.

Writes text based on your instructions.

Use with great caution. As with many other AI tools, it writes with a lot of "fluff".

Grammarly

An app focused on correcting and improving different types of texts.

There is a free version, but you need to create an account. The paid for version has a lot more features.

Enhances your text both grammatically and stylistically.

Other types of text processing

Many AI tools can be used in many different ways. These tools can, among other things, be used to summarize sources, but also create study questions, find counter arguments, translate texts, explain concepts, and give suggestions for further research.

Tools	Are of use	Free/free base version	Strengths	/comment
Copilot	Summarize, translate texts, explain concepts, create images etc.	Log in with your KauID to get full access to Copilot.	Works well in Swedish. Does not save your chats.	The university gives full access to Copilot, but that does not mean that you are allowed to use Copilot in your assignments.
Claude	Generate text, summarize, generate code, problem solving, and more.	Free version allows a limited number of searches, paid-for version is more advanced.	Programming. Claims to be "most human-like" in it's communication.	Language model developed by Anthropic.
ChatGPT4o	Summarize, translate texts, explain concepts, chat tool, etc.	Free	Easy to use for a lot of different tasks.
Gemini	Summarize, translate texts, explain concepts, chat tool, etc.	Free with a Google account.	Easy to use for a lot of different tasks.	Your interactions is a part of the training for Gemini, please keep that in mind.
NotebookLM	Summarize, explains terms, translates, create and share "notebooks, generate podcasts/audio from text, etc.	Free version, and a more advanced paid-for version.	Working with texts in different ways, and creating audio material for those who prefer that.	Based on Gemini (Google), unclear what types of personal data Google uses.
Perplexity	Summarize, translate texts, explain concepts, chat tool, etc.	There is a free version, but you need to create an account. There is also a more advanced paid for version.	Combines ChatGPT 4, Claude and other large language models to make advanced internet searches. Gives references for its sources.	Good searches, but the black box problem remains.
The Swedish Lion	The Swedish National Archive's own AI-model trained on Swedish manusripts from the 1600s and beyond.	Free via the platform Transkribus, where you can find AI-models for interpreting manuscripts in different languages.	Transform digital manuscripts to editable texts in a short amount of time.	You can't completely rely on the interpretation, some errors may occur.