What is EssentAI 

A Time and Mind Saver for Literature Reviews

EssentAI is a desktop tool for literature reviews. It assists you in identifying whether a journal article is relevant to your area of study or research by extracting and analysing key information. This helps you avoid hours spent reading through less relevant material and gives you more time to focus on what truly matters: your research, crafting your ideas and writing. You add a single academic article (PDF only) and it pulls out key details such as title, authors, year, journal, methods and findings, then saves everything to your library. You can search, filter, flag, open the PDF, view full details, keep notes with in-text citations, paraphrase passages and use ‘Recommendations’ to suggest the top five relevant references from your own library (larger libraries may take a moment).

Who EssentAI is for
EssentAI is designed for postgraduate students, early-career researchers and academics working with large volumes of journal literature who need to quickly assess relevance, stay organised and revisit sources efficiently.

EssentAI is designed to support decision-making and organisation, not to replace critical reading or scholarly judgement.

EssentAI is available through a low-cost monthly subscription for the application and uses a Bring Your Own OpenAI API Key model for article processing. This approach keeps costs transparent and gives you full control over how much AI you use.

In most cases, OpenAI API usage for revieing a journal article is only a small amount per paper, depending on article length and the AI model selected. With this setup, you pay the monthly fee for EssentAI (including ongoing updates), while OpenAI charges you directly for any API usage through your own key.

Getting Started is Easy
We know budgets can be tight, so your first 3 uploads and reviews are on us. No subscription needed until you are ready to keep going. Just follow the quick guides to create your API key, connect it to EssentAI and you will be up and running in minutes.

⚠ Important – First launch security notice

EssentAI does not modify system files and runs locally on your device.

ℹ️ EssentAI is a newly released independent desktop application. On first launch, Windows or macOS may display a security warning. This is normal behaviour for new applications and does not indicate a problem with the software.

 

 

macOS

EssentAI – macOS install steps

  1. Choose the correct download
    Download the Apple silicon or Intel version that matches your Mac. To find out which Mac you have, got to: Menu → About This Mac → check Chip (Apple silicon) or Processor (Intel).
  2. Move EssentAI to Applications
    Open Downloads in Finder, double click the zip, then drag EssentAI.app into your Applications folder.
  3. First launch
    In Applications, double click EssentAI. When macOS says it cannot open it because it is from an unidentified developer and offers Move to Bin or Cancel, click Cancel.
  4. Allow EssentAI
    Open System Settings → Privacy & Security. Under Security, find the message about EssentAI being blocked and click Open anyway, then click Open in the confirmation dialog.
  5. Trial and OpenAI key
    Your EssentAI free trial starts automatically on first launch. Add your OpenAI API key via EssentAI → Preferences… to use the AI features.

EssentAI – Windows install steps

  1. Download the installer zip
    Download EssentAI_Windows_1.0.0.1.zip and save it (for example in Downloads).
  2. Unblock the zip if needed
    Right click the zip → Properties. If you see “This file came from another computer and might be blocked…”, tick Unblock → OK.
  3. Extract the installer
    Right click the zip → Extract All… and open the extracted folder. You will see EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe and EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1_SHA256.txt (checksum).
  4. Unblock the installer if needed
    Right click EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe → Properties. If you see the same blocked message, tick Unblock → OK.
  5. Install EssentAI
    Double click EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe and follow the prompts. If SmartScreen appears, select More info → Run anyway.
  6. Start EssentAI
    Launch EssentAI from your desktop shortcut or the Start menu. Your free trial starts automatically, and you can add your OpenAI API key in Settings.

⬅️  READ Before Downloading  ➡️

Windows

Download EssentAI

Choose your platform:

How to use EssentAI
Create your OpenAI API key

FAQ

  1. Download the installer zip
    Download EssentAI_Windows_1.0.0.1.zip and save it to your computer (for example in Downloads).

  2. Unblock the downloaded zip (if required)

    • Right click EssentAI_Windows_1.0.0.1.zip and select Properties

    • If you see the message
      “This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer”
      tick Unblock and click OK

  3. Extract the installer

    • Right click EssentAI_Windows_1.0.0.1.zip → Extract All…

    • Open the extracted folder EssentAI_Windows_1.0.0.1

  4. Unblock the installer EXE (if required)
    In the extracted folder you will see

    • EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe – the EssentAI installer

    • EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1_SHA256.txt – optional checksum file

    Do this:

    • Right click EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe → Properties

    • If you see the same “This file came from another computer and might be blocked…” message, tick Unblock and click OK

  5. Run the installer
    Double click EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe and follow the prompts to install EssentAI.

  6. If a Windows SmartScreen warning appears

    • Click More info

    • Then click Run anyway

    This is normal for a newly released independent desktop application and does not indicate a problem with the software.

  7. Launch EssentAI
    Once installed, start EssentAI from your desktop shortcut or from the Start menu.

  8. Choose how to get started
    On the first launch:

    • EssentAI free trial starts automatically (three uploads included)

    • Add your OpenAI API key in Setting 

  • Choose the correct download

    • For Apple silicon (M1, M2, M3) click Download for Apple silicon

    • For an Intel Mac click Download for Intel Mac

    • Not sure

      • Click the Mac menu → About This Mac

      • Look for Chip (Apple silicon) or Processor (Intel)

  • Download and move EssentAI to Applications

    • Download the file

    • In Finder, open Downloads

    • If it is a zip, double click it to extract EssentAI.app

    • Drag EssentAI.app into your Applications folder

  • First attempt to open EssentAI

    • In Applications, double click EssentAI

    • When macOS says it cannot open it because it is from an unidentified developer and offers Move to Bin or Cancel, click Cancel

  • Allow EssentAI in System Settings

    • Open System Settings → Privacy & Security

    • Under Security, find the message that EssentAI was blocked

    • Click Open anyway

    • In the confirmation dialog, click Open

    After this one-off approval, EssentAI will open normally from Applications.

  • Trial and OpenAI key

    • On first launch, your EssentAI free trial starts automatically (three uploads included)

    • To use the AI features, add your OpenAI API key via
      EssentAI → Preferences…

EssentAI is distributed directly rather than through the Apple and Microsoft Store so costs can be kept as low as possible for users. App stores typically charge a significant percentage on each transaction, which would ultimately need to be passed on through higher subscription prices.

By distributing EssentAI directly, pricing remains fair and transparent, updates can be delivered more quickly.

This approach allows EssentAI to prioritise value, flexibility, and long-term sustainability for students, researchers, and academics.

EssentAI is designed as a standalone desktop tool instead of a web-based service to give users greater privacy, control and simplicity.

  • All documents are processed locally on your device before being sent securely to OpenAI for analysis — nothing is uploaded to external servers managed by EssentAI.

  • Your API key and extracted data are stored securely on your computer, not in the cloud.

  • The application connects to OpenAI only when performing analysis, ensuring your research data stays private.

  • It also allows for faster document handling and eliminates distractions from browsers or web tabs, helping students and professionals focus on their work.

⚠️ Note: EssentAI still requires an active internet connection to communicate with OpenAI’s servers when analysing or paraphrasing text.

EssentAI uses a Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) approach, which means you must connect your own OpenAI API key before you can start analysing articles.

  1. Open EssentAI on your computer.

  2. Open Settings:

    • Windows: Go to File → Settings and select Subscribe.

    • macOS: Go to EssentAI → Preferences, then select Subscribe.

  3. Under API Key, click Open OpenAI Dashboard.

  4. Log in to your OpenAI account or create an account if you do not have one ( https://platform.openai.com ).

  5. Click Create new secret key.

  6. After creating the key, copy it (it will look like sk-1234ABCD...).

  7. Return to EssentAI, paste the key into the API Key field, and click Save API Key.

  8. In the Choose GPT model dropdown, select the model you want to use for your session.

  9. Click Test Format to confirm your connection, then click Save to close the window.

Important note:

  • Your API key is stored securely on your device and never shared externally.

To activate the full version of EssentAI and unlock all features, follow these steps:

  1. Open EssentAI on your computer.

  2. Open Settings:

    • Windows: Go to File → Settings and select Subscribe.

    • macOS: Go to EssentAI → Preferences, then select Subscribe.

  3. You will be redirected to the secure checkout page (powered by Paddle).

  4. Complete your purchase by entering your payment details.

  5. After subscribing, you will see a Thank You page where you can enter your email address.

  6. Check your inbox (and spam or junk folder if needed) for an email containing your account access link.

  7. Click the link in the email to open your EssentAI Account Page, where your subscription code will be displayed.

  8. Copy the subscription code and return to EssentAI → Settings.

  9. Paste the code into the Subscription / Licence field and click Validate.

Once validated, your licence will show as Active, and you can access or manage your subscription anytime by clicking Manage in the Settings window.

EssentAI runs as a standalone desktop application and does not train any AI models on your data. Uploaded articles and notes are stored locally on your computer.

When you connect your own OpenAI API key, text is sent directly to OpenAI for processing under their API terms. Data sent via the OpenAI API is not used to train OpenAI models and is subject to their data handling and retention policies.

No. EssentAI is designed to support your research, not replace it.

The tool helps you quickly identify a paper’s focus, objectives and methodology, allowing you to decide whether it is relevant to your work.

By automating the time-consuming process of scanning articles, EssentAI gives you more time to focus on critical reading, analysis and writing, the parts of research that require your own insight and judgement.

Tip: Use EssentAI to shortlist relevant papers, then read the most important ones in full to build a strong understanding of your topic.

EssentAI only supports PDF documents, including journal articles, research papers and professional reports.

The application is designed exclusively for .pdf files, ensuring consistent performance and accurate text extraction.

To upload a document, click Browse Files on the main screen and select your PDF from your computer.

Tip: Scanned or image-based PDFs may not return accurate results because they do not contain selectable text.

Yes, you can use the Paraphrasing Tool in EssentAI to refine, simplify or rephrase your own text.

It helps improve clarity and flow while preserving your original meaning, making it useful for rewriting dense sections of academic work or preparing summaries for reports.

To use it, open the Paraphrasing Tool from the main window, paste your text. EssentAI will generate an alternative version of your text that you can review and edit further.

Tip: Always review generated content carefully to ensure it reflects your voice and meets your academic integrity requirements.

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