Buyer's guide
AI answer engines
A guide to notable AI answer engines and search assistants, spanning general web search, academic research, and developer-focused Q&A, grouped by use case.
General AI search
| Name | Company | Category | Business model | Launched | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | Perplexity AI | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2022-12 | 2026-07-27 |
| You.com | You.com | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2021-11 | 2026-07-27 |
| Genspark | Genspark | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2024-06 | 2026-07-27 |
| Felo | Felo | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2024-07 | 2026-07-27 |
Research and academic search
| Name | Company | Category | Business model | Launched | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Consensus | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2022 | 2026-07-24 |
| Elicit | Elicit | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2022 | 2026-07-24 |
| Liner | Liner | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2015 | 2026-07-27 |
Q&A and specialized search
| Name | Company | Category | Business model | Launched | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phind | Phind | Answer Engines | Freemium | 2022 | 2026-07-24 |
| iAsk | iAsk.Ai | Answer Engines | Free | 2023 | 2026-07-27 |
| Andi | Andi | Answer Engines | Free | 2022 | 2026-07-27 |
| Exa | Exa | Answer Engines | Paid | 2021 | 2026-07-27 |
Frequently asked questions
What are the best AI answer engines?
This guide highlights Perplexity, You.com, Genspark, Felo, Consensus, Elicit.
How many tools does this guide cover?
It lists 11 tools across 3 categories.