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 A$9.99 monthly subscription for the application and uses a Bring Your Own OpenAI API Key model for AI 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.

⚠️  EssentAI is currently available for Windows only.
Mac version coming soon 

Windows security notice
EssentAI is a newly released application. Windows may display a security warning during installation. This is normal for new software that has not yet established reputation with Windows. To continue installation, select: More info → Run anyway.

How to use EssentAI
Create your OpenAI API key

FAQ

Terms and Conditions

Windows: ✅
EssentAI is currently available for Windows 10 and Windows 11.
You can download the latest ZIP package directly using the Download & Start Using EssentAI button above.

macOS: 🧪 Coming Soon
A macOS version (.dmg installer) is currently in testing and will be released soon on this page.

Note: The initial release may require confirming the app as safe in macOS security settings (standard for new, unsigned apps). A fully Apple-notarised version will follow shortly after.

EssentAI is distributed directly rather than through the 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, and the application can remain focused on academic and research workflows rather than platform constraints.

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.

For Windows
    1. After clicking Download and Start Using EssentAI, a ZIP file (for example EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.zip) will begin downloading.
    2. When the download is complete, right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract All…
    3. Open the extracted folder and you will find the EssentAI_Setup_1.0.0.1.exe file.
    4. Double-click the installer to begin installation.
    5. If Windows shows a SmartScreen message, click More Info → Run Anyway (this is normal for new applications).
    6. Follow the prompts until installation is complete.
    7. Once installed, launch EssentAI from your desktop or Start menu.
    8. On the first launch, you can:
      • Start your Free Trial (three uploads included).
      • Add your OpenAI API key in Settings.

That is it – you are ready to start analysing your first journal article. 🎓



For macOS

A macOS version (.dmg installer) is currently in development and instructions will be available soon on this page.

Note: The initial macOS release may require confirming the app as safe in macOS security settings (standard for new, unsigned applications). A fully Apple-notarised version will follow shortly after.

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. Go to the top menu and select File → Settings to open the settings window.

  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. Go to File → Settings and click the Subscribe button.

  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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