Primo Research Assistant: Home

Smathers Libraries is introducing a new AI-powered “research assistant” into the Primo search experience.

Developed by Ex Libris, the Primo Research Assistant tool allows users to explore academic content by posing questions in natural language. The tool searches nearly six billion records in Ex Libris’s Central Discovery Index to find the five “most relevant” abstracts, which it summarizes in an answer of about 200-400 words.

To access the assistant within the catalog, click on the ‘Research Assistant’ option in the top menu bar.  Users must be logged in with their UF GatorLink ID to use the Research Assistant.

Clicking ‘view all results’ will take you to the full list of search results and the option to filter or refine using the search facets in the catalog.

• Getting Started wtih Primo Research Assistant

  ExLibris knowledge center documentation on Primo Research Assistant includes known issues, language support, scope, and capabilities.

• Primo VE How To

  Tutorial video demonstration for Primo Research Assistant.

• Search the Smathers Libraries powered by Primo

Frequently Asked Questions about Primo AI Research Assistant

What is the Primo AI Research Assistant?

• The Primo AI Research Assistant is a generative AI-powered tool developed by Ex Libris (part of Clarivate) designed to improve library discovery. It allows users to make research queries with everyday language and provides AI-generated summaries with references based on the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index (CDI). The tool is intended to make research more intuitive and accessible.

How does the Primo AI Research Assistant work?

• The tool converts a user's natural language question into a Boolean query using a large language model (LLM). This query is then sent to the Central Discovery Index (CDI) to retrieve results. The top results (up to 30) are then analyzed, and the five most relevant sources are identified based on their abstracts and metadata. The LLM then creates a concise summary with inline references based on those top five results, which is then delivered to the user.

What are the key strengths of the Primo AI Research Assistant?

• The primary strengths include its natural language query support, which allows users to search without advanced search skills, AI-generated summaries with inline references that provide quick access to relevant information, dynamic and reusable search strings that can be refined for further research, and multilingual support for over 50 languages.

How does the Primo AI Research Assistant ensure user privacy?

• The tool is designed with a privacy-centric approach. User inputs and licensed content are processed securely, and no personal data is stored or used in training the AI models, ensuring user privacy and data protection.