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Nothing is more embarrassing than a reviewer pointing out a paper you should have cited. This tutorial uploads a manuscript (on TIMP1) and asks Consensus to find what supports it, what challenges it, and what’s missing. You’ll learn how to:
  1. Upload a manuscript as an attachment
  2. Run Deep Search to find supporting, challenging, and must-cite papers
  3. Verify each finding at the exact quote in the source paper

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Step 1: Upload and ask

Click Attachments › Upload papers and select the manuscript. Toggle on Deep for the most thorough search, then ask:
Deep Search reads the manuscript, extracts the core concepts, and runs multiple differently-phrased searches. It reads the initial results, decides what follow-up searches to run (in the example: the publishing lab’s other work and the protein’s role in the cell life cycle), and even crawls the reference list of a key paper. It found 413 eligible papers and read 50.

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Step 2: Read the answer

The answer is organized as:
  • Core takeaway — what the manuscript reports and its main arguments
  • Evidence strength — claim by claim, with papers that support or refute each one
  • Studies that support the manuscript
  • Studies that challenge or reframe it
  • Papers that should be cited
Click any claim to see the exact quotes from the source paper. Click Open to jump to that passage in the PDF.

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When to use it

Early in writing, to find areas worth investigating. Late in writing, as a gut check before submission or before sending to a supervisor.
Uploaded papers stay in My Library so you can attach them again later.

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Two ways to upload

  • From the search bar — click +, then Upload papers, and ask your question in the same message.
  • From My Library — click Add papers › Upload to add up to 20 PDFs (or RIS/BibTeX files), then attach them to any search with +.
The Add papers menu in My Library with Upload, Paste DOIs, and Import from Zotero
Uploads must be text-based PDFs under 50 MB. Manuscripts, drafts, dissertations, protocols, and internal reports all work, and they stay private to you.

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Triage the 400 eligible papers

The answer cites the 50 papers it read, but the References panel holds every eligible paper. Switch to Table view to compare them by population, methods, results, sample size, and more, or export the list as CSV or RIS.
The References panel in table view

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Export the review

Export at the bottom gives you Copy text, Copy with citations in your reference style, or Export as PDF; tables and headings survive a paste into your writing tool.
The Export menu at the bottom of a report

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