Welcome to the Consensus FAQ page! Here, you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about our platform and features.
What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine built on a database of over 220 million peer-reviewed research papers. Unlike general AI tools, every response is tied back to a real research paper and is grounded in scientific research. It helps you quickly review the literature and understand complex topics faster.
How does Consensus work?
Consensus uses AI to help you quickly find high-quality, relevant scientific research. Every search goes through three key steps:
Find relevant papers: We search over 220 million research papers using AI (semantic search) and keyword search to understand your question and find the most relevant studies.
Prioritize quality: We then narrow down to the top 1,500 results and rank them based on factors like, recency, citation count, and journal quality.
Refine the top 20: We use a more powerful AI model that re-ranks the top 20 papers to ensure the most accurate, trustworthy, and relevant results.
Learn more here: How Consensus Works
What are the main features?
🧠 Pro Analysis: Summaries key findings from the top papers in your search and provides a high level synthesis with citations.
📊 Consensus Meter: Uses AI to analyze and visualize the level of agreement or disagreement in the literature in response to yes-or-no questions.
🔍 Advanced Search Filters: Refine your search using AI-powered filters to surface more relevant and tailored results.
🔬 Study Snapshot: Instantly extract key study details like methodology, sample size, and outcomes from each paper.
💬 Ask Paper: Chat directly with the full text of a paper to receive in-depth answers about its methods, findings, and more.
📂 Save Lists: Organize and save papers into custom lists so you can easily revisit and manage your research.
🕘 Search History: Access your previous searches so you can revisit and build on them at any time.
🔗 Integration with Reference Managers: Seamlessly export citations to tools like Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley for easy reference management.
🗂️ Research Hub: Upload and chat with the PDF of papers to interact directly with the research.
🧵 Threads: Ask follow-up questions within the same search and Consensus keeps your context so you can dive deeper into the topic.
How should I format my search query?
There’s no single “right” way to search in Consensus, we’re built to adapt to your style.
You can use keywords, phrases, or natural language questions.
Yes/no questions will generate the Consensus Meter to show the agreement or disagreement across the research.
Conversational prompts with Pro Analysis let you customize the output - try things like “create a table”, “make a bulleted list”, or “explain it like I’m 6”.
Learn more here: How to Search
Can I use Consensus for free?
Yes, Consensus offers a free tier that allows you to explore our features. However, upgrading to a Premium subscription unlocks unlimited use of all features.
How to change my default language?
Follow these steps to change your settings to receive Pro Analysis responses, summaries, and key takeaways in your preferred language:
Log in to your Consensus account at https://consensus.app/search/.
Click the circle profile icon (circle) in the bottom left corner.
Select Settings.
Use the language dropdown to choose your preferred language.
Does Consensus train AI models with your data?
No. Consensus does not use your data to train any AI models.
We do not share any user data with third parties.
We do not use any user data to train our own AI systems.
All user data is anonymized and kept private.
We’re committed to keeping your data private and protected.
What is your refund policy?
Our refund policy depends on your subscription type and your location. In general, refunds are available within a short window after purchase. EU customers may have additional rights. Please review our full Refund Policy to see if you're eligible and how to request one.
If you run into any issues or think of a feature request...
Please reach out to our team in one of the following ways:
Email: [email protected]
Support Chat: available in the interface