Welcome to the AI Tools for Literature Review guide. This guide will allow you to:
This guide will be updated periodically, but please reach out to the guide author with suggestions and corrections if needed!
A literature review typically has three broader distinct phases with various other steps, sub-tasks and tools involved. Never rely on AI tools to do the work for you - that's unethical and can get you into trouble. Instead, approach these tools as research assistants to help you work more efficiently.
View a table comparing different AI tools used to assist researchers create literature reviews. Of course, there are many many tools out there - these are suggestions!
Literature Review Phase | Tasks and Activities | Library Research Tools | AI Tools |
---|---|---|---|
Develop Research Question |
|
Generate Keywords & Research Questions
Topic or Subject Resources Preliminary Academic Literature Search |
Generate Keywords & Research Questions
Academic Literature Search |
Search & Analyze Literature |
|
Citation Chasing In-depth Academic Literature Search Keyword Tracking & Search Building Organize & Annotate Citations
|
Article Mapping Citation Chasing Interrogate paper
|
Write & Cite Review |
|
Matrix Generation Generate Citations & Bibliographies
|
Matrix Generation Zotero Integration for Analysis |
This table was inspired by Aster Zhao's Emerging AI tools for Literature Review guide, used under CC-BY 4.0.
These are three broader stages of the literature review process - for more a more detailed guide, see the Mastering the Literature Review guide.
BEFORE YOU START
Consider these 3 guidelines to help you to avoid academic misconduct, use Gen AI ethically, and avoid plagiarism before using Gen AI tools for your literature review. Be aware that some institutions (and publications) ban using AI in any form! (Almanza-Ferro, 2025; Kiczkowiak, 2024)
MORE TIPS
Check for Accuracy. AI tools are notorious for hallucinating citations that don't exist, or for unintentionally including misinformation or bias from the data used to train them. Your best bet is to use lateral reading to fact-check citations, claims, and content.
Check for Currency. Be aware of variations in Gen AI tools' training data. Use AI tools that connect to the internet if possible to avoid using out-of-date information.
Check for Context. Check the that AI generated summary or citations presented support the content in the paper(s) you are reading. Verify that themes in the generated AI tool summaries match what you have seen in the articles you are reading.
Cited Resources
Almanza-Ferro, A. (2025). Using AI Tools in Research. https://guides.library.tamucc.edu/AI/ethicalAI
Kiczkowiak, M. (2024, October 9). The fastest way to do your literature review with AI. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O60Ha2woAZI