AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
What AI tools should graduate students use in 2026?
Graduate students get the most from free literature search, a source-grounded notebook, a writing checker and a few student perks. Start with $240 in Google Gemini credits, then add tools by task.
The card shows who qualifies and how to claim it, and AI Perks tracks more student offers beyond it. This guide sorts tools by what a thesis actually needs: finding papers, organizing notes, writing and checking sources.
Basic Gemini is free with a personal Google account, and Gemini for Students has both free and paid plans. Purdue Global warns that it cannot guarantee products will stay free, so treat every free tier as something to check again.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
Perplexity $84
Eligible for early-stage startups
Which free AI tools help with literature search?
Semantic Scholar is free, Connected Papers gives 5 graphs a month free, and Elicit and Consensus have limited free plans. That covers discovery without paying anything.
Semantic Scholar is an AI-powered search engine for scientific literature based at Ai2. Its home page counted more than 238 million papers when it was checked. For related-paper maps, Connected Papers charges $3/month on an academic plan, billed annually.
| Tool | Best for | Free or student pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic Scholar | Searching scientific literature | Free |
| Connected Papers | Graph of related papers | Free for 5 graphs/month; academic $3/month |
| Consensus | Peer-reviewed literature with citations | Limited free plan; up to 40% off |
| Elicit | Summarizing papers for systematic reviews | Limited free plan; no student code |
| Paperguide | Paper research | 30% off |
Discount levels were checked on 21 Sept 2026. Boston University's library also points to Scite Assistant, whose "Smart Citations" show how papers are cited, which helps you judge a source before you build on it.
If you want another search-style assistant, the card for $84 in Perplexity credits shows who qualifies and how to claim. Lehigh even bundles Perplexity into its free gateway for graduate students, which shows how common this access has become.
How can AI help with notes and thesis writing?
Use a source-grounded notebook for reading, a LaTeX editor for the manuscript and a writing checker for polish. All three have free tiers.
The free Gemini Notebook tier allows 100 notebooks with 50 sources each, with higher limits on Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra. Yale lists NotebookLM as a research and note-taking tool that analyzes uploaded documents using Gemini models. Grammarly's free tier adds grammar, spelling, tone detection and 100 AI prompts a month.
Overleaf is an online LaTeX editor with a free plan and a student plan, though the student price is not published. Be careful with tools that cap uploads: Scholarly's free plan allows one lifetime upload of up to 8 MB and one lifetime AI creation, which is thin for a thesis.
For organizing chapters, reading logs and committee notes, see the card for $120 in Notion credits. It shows who qualifies, and AI Perks tracks more education offers alongside it.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
Perplexity $84
Eligible for early-stage startups
Which student offers are still open?
Google's 12-month student offer is open until December 31, 2026. Check the date on the card before you plan around it.
Google's offer, announced August 19, 2026, gives eligible US college students 12 months of Google AI Pro, which raises Gemini Notebook limits to four times the standard level. Eligible students in more than 140 other markets get 12 months of Google AI Plus instead. Both require a payment method and renew at the normal paid price unless cancelled.
The ChatGPT deal offered four free months of ChatGPT Plus, normally $20/month. The claim deadline has passed, so look to the Google offer instead.
| Offer | Value | Status on 2 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Pro (US) | 12 months | Redeem by Dec 31, 2026 |
| Google AI Plus (140+ markets) | 12 months | Redeem by Dec 31, 2026 |
| ChatGPT Plus | 4 free months | Closed Oct 31, 2026 |
| Runway | 25% off plans | Verified students, not available in China |
| Autodesk software | Free for 1 year | Eligible students |
A student resource hub listed 225 live offers across 9 categories as of Sep 30, 2026. For more targeted picks, open the card for $165 in ElevenLabs credits and see who qualifies.
What might your university already give you?
Many universities provide free AI access to graduate students, so check your own IT page before paying for anything. The details differ by campus.
- Lehigh: faculty and graduate students get free access to a gateway bundling OpenAI, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini models. They can also request one advanced tool, such as Google AI Pro, Copilot Pro, Claude Pro or ChatGPT, through an ITS form.
- Yale: students get free university-provided AI tools for brainstorming, study guides and code checks, plus a Consensus trial through 12/31/2026.
- CUNY: the AI Lab Sandbox offers a chat interface with open-weight models, with training prohibited and zero data retention.
- Boston University: TerrierGPT does not use inputs for model training.
- Georgetown: a fellowship paid up to $2,500 across the fall and spring semesters, and all full-time graduate students were invited to apply. For Ph.D. candidates it was a secondary hourly role for those with stipended assistantships, and selections were due to be announced by October 12.
Whatever you use, check your institution's AI policy and read the papers behind any AI summary. BU warns that its tool may miss sources or make mistakes, so use AI to support library research, not replace it. Be wary of tools that offer to write the paper for you.
For code and data work, the card for up to $120 in GitHub credits shows who qualifies and how to claim.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
Perplexity $84
Eligible for early-stage startups
Which catalogue perks can graduate students claim?
Five student and education perks in the catalogue add up to as much as $729 in credits. Each card shows who qualifies and how to claim.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini (students) | $240 | Get this perk |
| Perplexity (education) | $84 | Get this perk |
| Notion (education) | $120 | Get this perk |
| ElevenLabs (students) | $165 | Get this perk |
| GitHub (students) | Up to $120 | Get this perk |
Total: up to $729 in credits ($240 + $84 + $120 + $165 + $120).
How do you get started step by step?
Claim the catalogue perks first, then layer on the free tools and your campus access. This order keeps costs at zero.
- Get credits via AI Perks. Open the AI Perks catalogue, start with the $240 Google Gemini card, and check who qualifies.
- Check your campus tools. Look at your IT or library page for free gateways and tools like those at Lehigh, Yale, CUNY and BU.
- Match tools to tasks. Use Semantic Scholar for discovery, a notebook workspace for reading and Overleaf for the manuscript.
- Set a cancel reminder. Offers that require a payment method renew at the normal paid price unless you cancel.
- Verify every claim. Read the source papers behind any AI summary and follow your institution's AI policy.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
Perplexity $84
Eligible for early-stage startups
FAQ
Is there free AI for PhD students?
Yes. Semantic Scholar is free, Connected Papers gives 5 graphs a month, and Gemini Notebook allows 100 notebooks with 50 sources each. Many universities add free access for graduate students. The AI Perks catalogue lists student and education perk cards, with details on who qualifies and how to claim.
Can AI write my thesis?
It should not. Tools that offer to write the paper for you are a risk, and institutional policies may restrict AI use. Use AI to find sources, summarize and check wording. Read the papers behind any summary, and confirm your institution's AI policy before submitting.
Are student AI discounts worth it for grad school?
Sometimes. Consensus offers up to 40% off, Paperguide 30% and Runway 25%, while Elicit has no student code. Free tiers may already cover your needs, so compare first. The Google Gemini card shows who qualifies for a $240 student perk.
Do free AI offers charge me later?
Some do. Both Google student offers require a payment method and renew at the normal paid price unless you cancel. Set a reminder before the term ends. Each perk card, such as Perplexity's $84 card, shows who qualifies and how to claim.
Is my research data safe in AI tools?
It depends on the tool. BU's TerrierGPT does not use inputs for model training, and CUNY's Sandbox prohibits training and uses zero data retention with providers. For any other tool, read its privacy terms before uploading unpublished work.
Get your free AI credits
Graduate work needs a few good tools, not a pile of subscriptions. Claim the student perks, use your campus access and keep the free tiers for everything else.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
Browse every student and education perk card at getaiperks.com and start your thesis year with credits already in hand.
Related reading: Free AI for Students 2026: Best Tools by Study Task, AI Student Discount 2026: Every Verified Offer Listed and Free AI Credits for Students 2026: Every Program Compared.
