Elsevier has expanded the content available through its LeapSpace AI research platform and established an independent advisory board to provide guidance on areas including algorithms, transparency and publisher neutrality.
LeapSpace, which Elsevier describes as a “research-grade AI workspace”, is intended to support researchers across a range of activities rather than solely providing AI-assisted search and discovery.
Elsevier says LeapSpace now incorporates content from more than 1,500 scholarly publishers and societies, alongside Elsevier’s own peer-reviewed articles and books.
Judy Verses, President, Academic and Government at Elsevier, said: “Most AI tools give researchers answers.
Breadth of content and rigour of governance, with independent assessment from leading experts at some of the world’s top research institutions: that’s what makes AI research-grade.”Advisory board establishedAlongside the content expansion, Elsevier has established a LeapSpace Advisory Board, bringing together AI and academic publishing specialists to provide independent guidance on the development of the platform.
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Elsevier has expanded the content available through its LeapSpace AI research platform and established an independent advisory board to provide guidance on areas including algorithms, transparency and publisher neutrality.
The company says LeapSpace now draws on full-text content accounting for 56% of citations to research published since 2021 and 42% of research articles published globally over the same period. The platform has access to 2.6 billion cited references from Scopus abstracts.
LeapSpace, which Elsevier describes as a “research-grade AI workspace”, is intended to support researchers across a range of activities rather than solely providing AI-assisted search and discovery. These include literature reviews, designing study protocols, generating research data, preparing manuscripts and theses, and preparing work for submission.
The expansion follows new content licensing partnerships with BMJ Group, JAMA Network, Rockefeller University Press and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Agreements have also been extended to include selected full-text content from existing partners including Emerald Publishing, IOP Publishing and Sage Publishing.
Elsevier says LeapSpace now incorporates content from more than 1,500 scholarly publishers and societies, alongside Elsevier’s own peer-reviewed articles and books. It also draws on more than 100 million scientific records from Scopus, which covers content from more than 7,000 publishers.
Judy Verses, President, Academic and Government at Elsevier, said: “Most AI tools give researchers answers. LeapSpace helps researchers achieve better outcomes across their whole workflow, while supporting their critical thinking, igniting their curiosity, and keeping them in control. LeapSpace is grounded in trusted science, transparent in how it works, and publisher-neutral by design. Breadth of content and rigour of governance, with independent assessment from leading experts at some of the world’s top research institutions: that’s what makes AI research-grade.”
Advisory board established
Alongside the content expansion, Elsevier has established a LeapSpace Advisory Board, bringing together AI and academic publishing specialists to provide independent guidance on the development of the platform.
The move comes amid continuing questions across scholarly communications about the reliability and transparency of generative AI tools and the sources on which their outputs are based.
Elsevier’s Researcher of the Future Report found that 84% of researchers surveyed had used AI tools, while only 22% said they trusted them.
The company says the new board will advise on the algorithms used to surface and evaluate content, publisher-neutral content discovery and search rankings, responsible use of AI in academic and scientific research, and the transparency and explainability of AI-generated outputs.
The founding members are Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus Jörg-Rüdiger Sack of Carleton University, who will chair the board; Professor Jodi Schneider of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Professor Holger Hoos of RWTH Aachen University and Leiden University; Professor Fei Wu of Zhejiang University; and Dr Mikiko Tanifuji of Japan’s National Institute of Informatics.
Sack said: “Trust in AI depends on more than how powerful the technology is. Researchers need confidence that the underlying content is selected fairly, that algorithms operate transparently and that the same standards are applied consistently across publishers. The Advisory Board exists to provide independent oversight that helps ensure LeapSpace remains transparent, publisher-neutral, and grounded in trusted scientific evidence.”
The development of publisher-backed AI research platforms is becoming an increasingly significant area of competition within scholarly communications, with access to licensed full-text research emerging as a point of differentiation from general-purpose AI tools.
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