TL;DR
- Use DeepTutor when you want AI answers grounded in your PDFs and Zotero library.
- Use Zotero when you need citation management, library organization, and reference formatting.
- Together they form a full research workflow: organize in Zotero, reason with DeepTutor.
What is DeepTutor?
DeepTutor is an AI research assistant built on Zotero. It reads your papers to deliver cited answers, evidence extraction, and multi-paper comparisons inside a research workspace.
What is Zotero?
Zotero is a reference manager that helps you collect, organize, cite, and share research sources and PDFs.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | DeepTutor | Zotero |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | AI research assistant for understanding papers. | Reference manager for citations and libraries. |
| Cited answers | Generates answers grounded in your PDFs and notes. | Manages citations but does not generate AI answers. |
| PDF understanding | Extracts evidence, summaries, figures, and formulas. | Stores and organizes PDFs. |
| Library management | Syncs with Zotero collections and metadata. | Core feature: tags, folders, citations, and sharing. |
| Best for | Researchers who want fast, citation-backed understanding. | Researchers who need citation collection and formatting. |
How they work together
DeepTutor is designed to build on Zotero workflows. Keep organizing your sources in Zotero, then ask DeepTutor questions to extract evidence and compare findings across papers.