The combination of Zotero with AI-supported plugins opens up new possibilities for scientific research and analysis. I have already described one of these tools in my article ’The top Zotero extensions I can't live without'.
Here I present the best AI tools that can extend Zotero - including information on costs and supported models. And if you're technically minded, you'll also find a DIY guide at the end to build your own language model based on your library.
By the way: this article is about AI features inside of Zotero. If you’d prefer to connect your library to external assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT instead, you’ll find a useful overview in our article MCP and Zotero: an overview of available tools.
Zotero minimum version: 7.x+
Supported LLMs: OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, and other providers via custom endpoints (e.g. OpenRouter)
Cost: Free version with 25 credits to try out; unlimited use possible with your own API key. Plus plan from $10/month with 100 credits.
Target group: Researchers with extensive libraries who are looking for deep integration into their Zotero workflow
Beaver was developed by Joscha Legewie, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Joscha is also the developer of ZotFile – one of the most widely used Zotero plugins. His deep familiarity with Zotero is evident: the plugin integrates directly into Zotero as a side panel and allows you to search your entire library – including full-text searches within PDFs and page-specific source references.
The built-in reading assistant is particularly handy, as it explains highlighted text passages or formulas directly within the PDF. Furthermore, Beaver can search through over 240 million academic papers outside its own library and helps organise collections and tags, as well as filling in missing or incorrect metadata – with all changes only being applied once confirmed. Beaver also stands out thanks to its extensive Knowledge Base which makes getting started really easy!
Download & information: https://www.beaverapp.ai/
Zotero minimum version: 7.0+
Supported LLMs: OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Qwen, Kimi and others, as well as any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (e.g. Ollama, LM Studio). Can also be used via WebChat (ChatGPT/DeepSeek), Codex App Server and Claude Code.
Cost: Completely free and open source (AGPL v3). You’ll only incur your provider’s API charges. ChatGPT Plus subscribers can use their existing subscription via the Codex App Server without needing a separate API key; the WebChat mode even works without a key at all.
Target group: Researchers who don’t just want to chat with individual PDFs, but would like to have their entire library managed by an AI agent
llm-for-zotero by Yile Wang is designed as a true agent system and goes well beyond the simple question-and-answer principle. Directly within the Reader, you can summarise papers, have highlighted passages explained, interpret figures via screenshots, and compare multiple papers with one another. Answers are always anchored in the source text – with a single click, you can jump back to the relevant passage.
The highlight is the agent mode (Beta): Here, the LLM autonomously searches your library, adds metadata, assigns tags, organises collections and imports papers via DOI or arXiv ID. Any actions that involve writing data always require confirmation and can be undone. Via the built-in MCP server you can also connect external AI tools such as Claude Desktop to your Zotero library.
Download & information: llm-for-zotero on GitHub and see also the documentation
Zotero minimum version: 6.0+
Supported LLMs: ChatGPT-3.5+, Claude, Gemini, Llama, Phi, Gemma, Mistral…
Cost: free; needs ChatGPT Plus subscription
PapersGPT (formerly Zotero-ChatPDF or ZoteroChat) is based on zotero-gpt and enables conversation-based analysis of PDFs directly in Zotero. Researchers can ask specific questions about document content without having to read through the entire document, which saves time and helps to find key information more quickly.
PapersGPT also stands out because it supports a large number of LLMs: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude Sonnet, Meta Llama, Microsoft Phi, Google Gemma and Mistral. The extension also offers completely free LLMs that can be run locally. Unfortunately, this is currently only possible for Mac users.
Download & information: https://www.papersgpt.com/ or directly under github.com/papersgpt/papersgpt-for-zotero
Zotero minimum version: 6.0 or higher
Supported LLMs: ChatGPT, Claude
Cost: Free version with limited access; requires ChatGPT Plus subscription for full access
AskYourPDF is a tool that allows targeted communication with the content of saved PDFs. Researchers can ask questions about the PDF content and have relevant passages displayed, which is particularly helpful for complex texts. This makes it easier to work on specific topics and large PDF files. AskYourPdf is also available as a mobile phone app and as a browser extension (Chrome) and can therefore provide a comprehensive solution.
Download & information: AskYourPdf for Zotero
Zotero minimum version: 6.0 or higher
Supported LLMs: Scite uses its own NLP algorithms and does not support external LLMs
Cost: Partly free of charge, but extended functions require a paid subscription
Scite is a platform for finding and evaluating scientific articles via Smart Citations. Smart Citations allows 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 can therefore help relevant papers, to rate an article's quality and inform about new publications in your field of research. Scite for Zotero Plugin can do this directly in Zotero. On the one hand, you can see the metadata classification of a paper and then via a right click on "Scite Report" will be redirected directly to Scite.
Scite is like a ChatGPT that you can ask questions. It shows you which papers it has accessed and what it ‘thinks’ about them. You can ask questions like ‘What is the evidence for ginger tea for colds?’ and it will tell you. I would definitely recommend using the trial to see if you like Scite.
Download & information: https://github.com/scitedotai/scite-zotero-plugin
Zotero minimum version: 9.0+
Supported LLMs: Any provider with a compatible chat interface – ChatGPT, Claude, Llama, etc.; OpenRouter is the default; local models are possible
Cost: Free and open source (AGPL-3.0); API charges apply depending on the chosen provider
Zotero AI is a new community-driven plugin that’s deliberately kept simple: no subscription, no proprietary service behind it – just a pure interface to the AI provider of your choice. Right-clicking on an entry opens a chat window where responses—including Markdown and LaTeX equations—appear. The plugin reads not only the metadata but also the full-text index of the associated PDF. It is controlled via short commands: #summarize summarises, #ask answers questions about your document, #translate translates the highlighted text, #search searches your whole library semantically and #web let's your LLM search the web independently and adds citations to its answers.
To put this into context: The project is still in its very early stages and is being developed by a single person. According to the documentation, the API key is stored in plain text in the Zotero settings. Furthermore, not every feature works with every model: #web requires function calling, #search in addition, an accessible embedding endpoint – OpenRouter does not provide one, so a local instance must be used here.
Download & information: https://github.com/text70/zotero_ai
Zotero minimum version: 7.0 or higher
Supported LLMs: Claude, Deepseek, Doubao, Gemini, GLM, Grok, Kimi, Qwen, Wenxin, Yi
Cost: Free; however, depending on the model used, a premium subscription is required for API access.
The Zotero AI Bar provides a sidebar that allows users to perform AI-powered tasks such as summarising research papers, translating texts, and answering questions based on the content of your PDF library.
Download & information: Zotero AI Bar
Zotero minimum version: 7.0 or higher
Supported LLMs: ChatGPT, Gemini (soon)
Cost: Free; however, depending on the model used, a Premium subscription may be required for API access
Chat directly with AI in the Zotero sidebar – available in both library view and PDF reader. Ask questions, get summaries, and interact seamlessly with your research.
Download & information: AIdea
Required LLM Tools: OpenAI API or other LLM platform of your choice
Supported LLMs: 6.0 or higher
Cost: Chargeable depending on the platform used; API fees for GPT-4 may apply
Target group: Researchers with advanced technical knowledge (Python)
For specialised requirements, it is possible to create your own LLM based on your Zotero library. A detailed guide by Emmett McFarlane on Medium describes how to create and set up a customised AI model based on your own Zotero database.
from pyzotero import zotero
from openai import OpenAI
import chromadb
# Initialize ChomaDB
chroma_client = chromadb.PersistentClient(path="chromadb")
collection = chroma_client.get_or_create_collection(name="zotero_papers")
# Initialize LLM client
llm_client = OpenAI(
base_url=os.environ["LLM_SERVER_BASE_URL"],
api_key=os.environ["LLM_SERVER_API_KEY"],
)
# Initialize Zotero client for user (use group id and "group" for group libraries)
zot = zotero.Zotero(
library_id=os.environ.get("ZOTERO_USER_ID"),
library_type="user",
api_key=os.environ.get("ZOTERO_API_KEY")
)Guide: DIY: Ground LLaMa on your papers from Zotero
With the AI plugins presented, Zotero becomes a platform for AI-supported literature management. The tools enable efficient analyses, citation evaluations and interaction with PDF content, making everyday scientific work easier. Researchers can retrieve specific information, recognise relevant literature and even create their own language model - a comprehensive extension of traditional literature management.
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How the cite-non-english plugin replaces Juris-M and, for the first time, enables clean multilingual citations, especially CJK citations, directly in Zotero.
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