Using AI to compare what 3 sources actually say

Real research isn't just reading sources — it's noticing where they agree, contradict, or leave gaps. AI is great at this. Paste in summaries of three articles and ask it to make a comparison table.

Some examples

• 'Compare these 3 article summaries. Where do they agree? Where do they conflict?'
• 'Which source has the strongest evidence and why?'
• 'What's missing from all three?'
• 'Build a 3-column table: Author, Main Claim, Counter-Argument.'

Try it!

Find 3 short articles on the same topic. Paste their summaries into AI and ask for a comparison table. Use it as your essay outline.

Practice this safely

Try this with a school, hobby, or family example where the stakes are low. Use the AI output as a draft you can question, not as the final answer.

1. 1Ask AI to explain synthesis in plain language, then underline anything that sounds uncertain or too broad.
2. 2Give it one detail from "Using AI to compare what 3 sources actually say" and ask for two possible next steps plus one reason each step might be wrong.
3. 3Check comparison against a trusted source, teacher, adult, expert, or original document before you use it.