My Productivity Setup: AI Tools as a Research Engineer

As a research engineer, staying on top of complex tasks requires the right tools. AI has become a game-changer in my productivity setup, helping me focus on high-value work. Here are the four AI tools I use daily to stay efficient and effective:

1. Elicit

Why I Use It: To supercharge my research workflow. Elicit helps me find, summarize, and analyze academic papers, so I can dive straight into insights that matter.

• Key Features:
  • Searches 125M+ academic papers with natural language queries.
  • Summarizes findings and extracts relevant data for reviews.
• How It Helps: Cuts down hours of manual research by delivering trusted, peer-reviewed sources.

2. NotebookLM

Why I Use It: To make sense of complex documents and create actionable insights. NotebookLM is my go-to for understanding dense research papers without getting lost in the details.

• Key Features:
  • Generates a table of contents and summaries for uploaded PDFs.
  • Suggests questions and points you to specific sections of the document.
• How It Helps: Turns academic jargon into clear, actionable information.

3. Claude / Perplexity

Why I Use It: When I need to turn raw insights into actionable strategies or detailed plans. Claude excels at creating structured, practical outputs.

• Key Features:
  • Drafts detailed strategies and frameworks based on research inputs.
  • Provides multilingual support and coding assistance.
• How It Helps: Converts high-quality input into actionable frameworks that my team can implement.

4. Napkin AI

Why I Use It: To visually communicate ideas and insights. Napkin AI makes it easy to turn text into professional visuals for presentations and brainstorming.

• Key Features:
  • Generates flowcharts, diagrams, and infographics from simple text inputs.
  • Customizable outputs for presentations or reports.
• How It Helps: Simplifies complex ideas into visuals that resonate with teams and stakeholders.

Wrapping Up

These tools don’t just make me more productive—they allow me to focus on creativity and strategy while letting AI handle the grunt work. Whether it’s digging into research, generating insights, or presenting ideas visually, this AI-powered workflow has transformed how I work as a research engineer.