AI search tools are changing how researchers discover scientific research papers. Prof. Zhijun Zhen is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Geographic Information Science, College of Geo-exploration Science and Technology, Jilin University. His research workflow has also changed a lot because of AI search tools, not only the way he finds research, but also how work is disseminated.
Prof. Zhen joined the Preprints.org Advisory Board in January 2026. We recently had an insightful conversation with him about how AI is changing the way researchers find relevant papers, and why preprints can be a valuable source for AI-powered research discovery.
How AI search benefits from preprints
Keeping up with new papers is routine for researchers, but as new findings keep coming out, it is challenging to find the ones that actually matter.
Prof. Zhen told us the following:
When there are so many papers, just searching databases manually and reading abstracts one by one doesn’t cut it anymore. These days I usually start with AI tools. I let them do a broad search across preprint servers first. Once the AI picks out the most relevant ones, I go get the final versions and read them closely.
What Prof. Zhen sees as one key advantage of preprints is their openness. Sometimes AI tools have limited access to papers, for example, in subscription-based journals, which leads to incomplete search results. Preprints are openly accessible, giving AI tools the opportunity to access more content, such as arguments, methods and data. That makes the search much wider and deeper, and more importantly, can help researchers identify potentially relevant studies more efficiently, although the results depend on the tools and sources used.
Introduction to Preprints.org
It was not for searching papers when Prof. Zhen used Preprints.org for the first time. It happened while he was submitting to an MDPI journal. The system offered an option to post the manuscript as a preprint on Preprints.org. Prof. Zhen told us the following:
No reformatting, no new account, no extra paperwork. It was so easy, so I tried it. No extra work, so why not?
Prof. Zhen saw the potential of preprints to increase research visibility. When a manuscript is under review, its findings may not yet be publicly accessible. Sharing a preprint allows researchers to make the work available earlier. More importantly, preprints could be a source for AI academic search tools. That gives research an early advantage and more chance to be seen.
Why preprints matter more in the AI era
Using AI in his own paper search workflow has made Prof. Zhen notice that searching for research is shifting from manual to AI-assisted chats. Researchers are increasingly turning to AI assistants to ask for relevant research. That is a big change. Prof. Zhen believes that if AI can access research more easily, people are more likely to find it. And preprints are no longer just a waiting room before formal publication. They are becoming a link between LLMs and researchers.
Prof. Zhen believes the following:
If preprint platforms lean further into AI—making it easier for AI tools to connect and access the content—researchers will be able to find and use new findings shared with preprints even faster.
The future of AI-powered research discovery
From trying preprints for the first time to recognizing their value for AI-powered search, Prof. Zhen’s experience shows how researchers use preprints in the AI era. He believes that as AI search tools keep improving, preprints—as a source for AI search—are likely to play an even bigger role in how research gets found and used.
The opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Preprints.org. As part of our mission to share early research quickly, openly and globally, we encourage open dialog and welcome diverse perspectives.
About Researcher Voices
Researcher Voices is an interview series showcasing how preprints influence research today. Through interviews with scholars, we highlight real experiences using preprints, as well as their role in and diverse engagements with open science.
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