Using Generative AI

With so many text-based generative AI tools available, deciding which one to use for a particular task can be difficult. One important consideration is whether the tool is grounded in a source of facts. Having access to current, real-world data can help prevent an AI tool from hallucinating.

ChatGPT 3.5, the free version of ChatGPT, is not grounded: It relies on its training data to generate responses. As of April 2024, it was last updated in January 2022 and only includes information up to that point.

Grounded AI models

The following AI tools can use web search results in their responses:

These AI tools use scholarly sources of data:

For writing tasks like:

• Brainstorming ideas or examples
• Narrowing your topic ideas for a research paper
• Identifying keywords to search in library databases
• Summarizing and outlining information
• Changing the writing level of some text (for a 5-year-old, university student, etc.)
• Changing the writing style of some text (to make it more humorous, formal, satirical, diplomatic, etc.)

Use any of these tools:

For searching tasks like:

• Finding and synthesizing information from webpages that answer your question
• Getting a summary of information from a specific website

Use tools grounded in web searching, like:

For tasks like: 

• Synthesizing information from a set of documents
• Developing an outline from your notes
• Brainstorming ideas related to one or more documents

Use tools that allow you to upload documents, like:

Ensure you review ethical considerations before uploading documents to a generative AI tool. For example, do the documents include any sensitive information? (How) does the generative AI tool use the data you upload?

For scholarly research-oriented tasks like:

• Finding scholarly articles
• Synthesizing information from scholarly articles
• Summarizing a specific scholarly article
• Asking questions about a particular scholarly article

Start by searching library databases and Google Scholar.

Their coverage is more comprehensive than the tools below.

Then try these generative AI tools:

You can use these tools to find additional sources that may not have appeared through keyword searching. They use semantic search, which aims to give you relevant results by interpreting the meaning of your search (instead of just showing results that match the words you enter). They also include generative AI features, like responding to natural language prompts, summarizing, outlining, etc.

Note: While these tools may have free versions, most have usage limits without a subscription.