---
title: "AI research assistants: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the tools used to research a topic with AI. Share of Search among Perplexity, Consensus, Elicit, Semantic Scholar and Scite, the AI research assistants Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-assistants"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# AI research assistants: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the tools used to research a topic with AI. Share of Search among Perplexity, Consensus, Elicit, Semantic Scholar and Scite, the AI research assistants Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: AI research assistants
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Perplexity, 92%

## Which brand is most popular in search among AI research assistants worldwide?

- In August 2026, Perplexity was the most searched among AI research assistants worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 92% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Consensus is in 2nd place, 88.9 percentage points behind at 3% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Perplexity’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide decreased from 96.9% to 92%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus’ estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 0.77% to 3%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Elicit’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 1.4% to 3%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Semantic Scholar’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 0.77% to 1.7%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus’ estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide peaked at 3.2% in June 2026 and was lowest at 0.77% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Semantic Scholar’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide peaked at 1.8% in March 2026 and was lowest at 0.77% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus rose from 3rd to 2nd among AI research assistants worldwide.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Elicit fell from 2nd to 3rd among AI research assistants worldwide.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Scite held steady: its estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Perplexity vs Consensus: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/consensus-vs-perplexity): 92% against 3% Share of Search.
- [Perplexity vs Elicit: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/elicit-vs-perplexity): 92% against 3% Share of Search.
- [Consensus vs Elicit: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/consensus-vs-elicit): 3% Share of Search each.

## How did search popularity change for AI research assistants worldwide in August 2026?

- Perplexity’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 93% to 92% in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Consensus worldwide rose 22.3% over 11 measured months, from 301K to 368K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Scite worldwide fell 45.3% over 11 measured months, from 60.5K to 33.1K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Semantic Scholar worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 301K to 201K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Elicit worldwide fell 33.1% over 11 measured months, from 550K to 368K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Perplexity | 92% | 11.1M | -0.3% | Perplexity |
| 2 | Consensus | 3% | 368K | 0.0% | Consensus |
| 3 | Elicit | 3% | 368K | 0.0% | Elicit |
| 4 | Semantic Scholar | 1.7% | 201K | 0.0% | Semantic Scholar |
| 5 | Scite | 0.27% | 33.1K | +22.1% | Scite |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Perplexity | 37.8M | 96.9% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Elicit | 550K | 1.4% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Consensus | 301K | 0.77% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Semantic Scholar | 301K | 0.77% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Scite | 60.5K | 0.16% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Perplexity | 29.5M | 96.3% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Elicit | 450K | 1.5% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Consensus | 368K | 1.2% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Semantic Scholar | 246K | 0.8% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Scite | 60.5K | 0.2% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Perplexity | 20.9M | 95.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Elicit | 368K | 1.7% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Consensus | 301K | 1.4% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Semantic Scholar | 201K | 0.92% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Scite | 49.5K | 0.23% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Perplexity | 18.4M | 94.8% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Elicit | 450K | 2.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Consensus | 301K | 1.5% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 201K | 1% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Scite | 49.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Perplexity | 18.3M | 94.3% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Elicit | 450K | 2.3% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Consensus | 368K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 246K | 1.3% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Scite | 49.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Perplexity | 19.3M | 93.1% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Elicit | 550K | 2.7% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Consensus | 450K | 2.2% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 368K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Scite | 49.5K | 0.24% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Perplexity | 19.1M | 93.4% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Elicit | 550K | 2.7% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Consensus | 450K | 2.2% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 301K | 1.5% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Scite | 49.5K | 0.24% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Perplexity | 15.7M | 93% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Consensus | 450K | 2.7% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Elicit | 450K | 2.7% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 246K | 1.5% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Scite | 40.5K | 0.24% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Perplexity | 12.9M | 92.7% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Consensus | 450K | 3.2% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Elicit | 368K | 2.7% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 165K | 1.2% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Scite | 33.1K | 0.24% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Perplexity | 11.2M | 92.1% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Consensus | 368K | 3% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Elicit | 368K | 3% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 201K | 1.7% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Scite | 27.1K | 0.22% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Perplexity | 11.1M | 92% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Consensus | 368K | 3% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Elicit | 368K | 3% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Semantic Scholar | 201K | 1.7% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Scite | 33.1K | 0.27% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Consensus | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Elicit | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Perplexity | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Scite | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Semantic Scholar | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Consensus**: Measured on the search term “consensus ai”.
- **Elicit**: Measured on the search term “elicit”.
- **Perplexity**: Measured on the search terms “comet browser”, “comet perplexity”, “perplexity”, “perplexity ai”, “perplexity ai app”, “perplexity ai free”, “perplexity ai search”, “perplexity ai search engine”, “perplexity app”, “perplexity browser”, “perplexity chat”, “perplexity com”, “perplexity comet”, “perplexity download”, “perplexity finance”, “perplexity ia”, “perplexity labs”, “perplexity max”, “perplexity pro”, “perplexity search” and “perplexity.ai”, summed into one figure.
- **Scite**: Measured on the search term “scite”.
- **Semantic Scholar**: Measured on the search term “semantic scholar”.

- [Consensus](/demand/global-en/brands/consensus)
- [Elicit](/demand/global-en/brands/elicit)
- [Perplexity](/demand/global-en/brands/perplexity)
- [Scite](/demand/global-en/brands/scite)
- [Semantic Scholar](/demand/global-en/brands/semantic-scholar)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among AI research assistants worldwide?

In August 2026, Perplexity was the most searched among AI research assistants worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 92% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "AI research assistants: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-assistants

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-assistants. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.