By considering factors such as functionality, ease of use, and scalability, we aim to help you make informed decisions about your learning and research needs and leverage the power of AI. You may click on a specific hyperlink in the guide below for further reference.
Note: This guide only provides options for GenAI tools to enhance your learning and research experience. You are strongly advised to use GenAI tools ethically, appropriately, and with a thorough understanding of their capabilities and potential implications. Respect intellectual property rights, adhere to ethical guidelines, and exercise responsible usage to contribute positively to the academic and research community.
Scroll down this page for more details.
| Primo Research Assistant (beta) | Assistant by Scite |
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(Primo Research Assistant, Feb 2025)
Primo Research Assistant allows you to explore academic content by asking questions in natural language. The tool uses most of the content found in your library to identify five documents that can help answer your question. Quick Access via HKU Libraries |
(Assistant by Scite, May 2025)
Ask questions and get more reliable academic answers from the full texts of research articles with citations on Assistant by Scite. HKU students and staff can use it for free with an HKU license. Quick access via HKU Libraries |
| Consensus | Elicit |
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(Consensus, May 2025) Consensus is an academic search engine that supports researchers with knowledge in an accessible way. A trial access to Consensus Pro is available at HKU till 31 August 2026! More about Consensus Trial at HKU |
(Elicit, May 2025) The AI Research Assistant can help find literature by summarising papers, extracting data by answering your research questions, and synthesising your findings.
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| Connected Papers | Perplexity |
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(Connected Papers, May 2025) Explore connected papers in a visual graph by keyword/paper title/paper identifier search. In the graph, papers are arranged according to their similarity (About Connected Papers, Jan 2025). |
(Perplexity, May 2025) Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine and conversational assistant that provides real-time, accurate answers with cited sources by combining the capabilities of large language models with live web search functionality. |
Trial period:
Effective immediately through 31 August 2026
Overview and features:
Consensus for Universities Overview: https://consensus.app/home/blog/getting-started-with-consensus-university-access/
Search best practices: https://consensus.app/home/blog/best-practices/
How a Consensus search works: https://consensus.app/home/blog/how-consensus-works/
Library specific overview demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kclrF8FBqyI&feature=youtu.be
Privacy policy: https://consensus.app/home/privacy-policy/
How to get started:
Visit https://consensus.app/
Sign up for a Consensus account using your HKU email address (@hku.hk / @connect.hku.hk).
Go to Settings > Subscription > look for the message "You are currently on the Enterprise tier".
You are now ready to use Consensus!
What are covered in this trial?
Pro Search: Unlimited (Smart search, analysis of 20 papers per query)
Deep Search 50 per month (Comprehensive search, Literature Review of 50 papers per query, https://consensus.app/home/blog/deep-search/)
Snapshots: Unlimited
Please note that due to budget constraints, subscription to additional generative AI tools may be subject to funding availability and with the loss of subscription to other library resources. Your comments would greatly assist us in selecting the most suitable tools to meet researchers' needs. If you have any comments on Consensus (whether you like it or not), please send them to libis@hku.hk. Thank you very much for your valuable input.
Last update on 5 November 2025
