VIVA, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium, is conducting consortium-wide trials of two AI research tools, Consensus and Scite, as potential additions to VIVA's shared resources. The trials are available until Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Information and links to the trials of Consensus and Scite can be found on the VCUL Databases A-Z website on the right bottom of the page under New/Trial databases at VCUL Databases.

• Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine. It ranks the top 20 papers from a peer-reviewed literature search, offers snapshots of individual studies, and lists key insights from articles on a topic. If a user enters a yes/no question, Consensus tags individual articles with yes, no, mixed, and possibly, and provides a Consensus Meter that visualizes the balance of supporting and contrasting evidence. For unlimited access until the end of the trial, sign up for an account using your @vcu.edu email address.  
• Scite is an AI-powered research tool for discovering and evaluating scholarly articles. Smart Citations allow users to see how a publication has been cited by providing the context of the citation and a classification describing whether it provides supporting or contrasting evidence for the cited claim. Scite Assistant generates a summary of the scholarly literature on a topic, with cited references. Scite is also useful for impact analysis. For unlimited access until the end of the trial, access is automatic from any campus network, no account needed. For off-site access, sign up for an account using your @vcu.edu email address.

VCU Libraries would like to understand whether and how research-focused AI resources are of value to our community. Please provide feedback about your experience with the VIVA trial access to either Consensus or Scite. Anonymous responses will be shared with VIVA in aggregate and used only for the purpose of determining if these tools should be added to VIVA’s shared resources.