How to predict Viva questions using AI before the exam

“Examiner Mindset”:

Examiners usually ask questions from the “Learning Objectives” or the “Summary” at the end of a chapter.

The Prompt: Copy-paste your chapter summary or syllabus into ChatGPT/Perplexity.

Type: “Act as a strict External Examiner for a PhD Viva. Based on this text, generate 10 tricky conceptual questions that test my understanding, not just memory. Also, provide the ideal 2-line answer for each.”

Result: You will walk into the exam hall knowing exactly what they are going to ask.

11 Best AI Tools for Students 2026: Finish Assignments in Minutes (Free)

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Introduction: The 2 AM Reality

Scenario A (The Old Way): It is 2 AM. You have a 50-page research paper due at 8 AM. You are staring at a dense PDF full of academic jargon, your eyes are burning, and you are highlighting random sentences hoping they make sense. Panic mode is ON.

Scenario B (The Smart Way): It is 2 AM. You upload that same PDF to an AI tool. You ask, “What are the 3 main arguments?” It tells you instantly. You ask, “Write a 500-word summary.” It’s done. You close your laptop and sleep like a baby.

Namaste Students, I am Anand, your Tech Mentor at Gadget Gyani.

College is hard, but it doesn’t have to be inefficient. In 2026, reading every single line of a textbook is the old way. The new way is to use ai tools for students free of charge to act as your personal research assistant.

Today, I will show you the tools that cut your study time by 90% without compromising your learning.

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The Tool List: Ranked by Utility

I wish I had these during my Engineering days. Here are the top 5 lifesavers.

1. ChatPDF / Humata (The PDF Talker)

Best for: Textbooks, Research Papers, and Legal Documents.

Imagine if your textbook could talk. That is ChatPDF.

• What it is: You upload a PDF file (up to hundreds of pages). The AI reads it instantly.
• Hacker Feature: “Ask Specifics”
  • The Hack: Don’t just ask for a summary. Be specific.
  • Prompt: “Go to Chapter 4. Explain the concept of ‘Thermodynamics’ using a real-world example of a car engine. Also, quote the page number where this is mentioned.”
  • Result: It gives you the explanation + the exact citation. No more hunting for quotes.

2. Perplexity AI (The Google Killer)

Best for: Writing Research Papers with Citations.

ChatGPT is great, but it sometimes hallucinates (lies). Perplexity is different. It is a “Search Engine” that gives answers with footnotes.

• Why it wins: Every sentence it writes has a little number next to it [1]. Click it, and it takes you to the actual source (NASA, Nature, Wikipedia).
• Use Case: When your professor says, “Back up your claims with sources,” use Perplexity. It basically writes your Bibliography for you.

3. Quillbot (The Paraphraser)

Best for: Rewriting and Avoiding Plagiarism.

We all know the struggle: You found the perfect sentence in a book, but you can’t copy-paste it because of Turnitin.

• Hacker Feature: “Fluency Mode”
  • The Hack: Paste your rough, broken English draft into Quillbot. Select “Fluency” mode.
  • Result: It polishes your grammar and vocabulary instantly, making you sound like an Oxford scholar. It is also excellent for rewriting AI-generated content to make it sound more human.

4. SciSpace (The Researcher)

Best for: PhD/Masters Students and Complex Science.

If you are dealing with heavy math or scientific formulas, ChatPDF might struggle. SciSpace (Typeset.io) is built for science.

• Hacker Feature: “Explain Math”
  • The Hack: Highlight a complex equation in a PDF. SciSpace will pop up and explain exactly what that formula does in plain English. It also suggests related papers, creating a “Knowledge Graph” for your thesis.

5. Otter.ai (The Note Taker)

Best for: Lectures and Online Classes.

Stop trying to write down every word the professor says. You are missing the concept because you are too busy typing.

• What it is: A voice recorder app that transcribes audio to text in real-time.
• The Hack: Turn on Otter at the start of the lecture. Sit back and listen. After class, Otter gives you a full text transcript + a summary of key points. You can even search the audio for keywords like “Midterm” or “Important.”

6. Google NotebookLM (The Podcast Maker)

Best for: Auditory Learners who hate reading.

This is Google’s secret weapon for students.

• The Magic: You upload your class notes, PDFs, or Google Docs.
• Hacker Feature: “Audio Overview”
  • The Hack: Click one button, and two AI hosts (a man and a woman) will start a Podcast conversation about your notes. They joke, banter, and explain the concepts to each other. You can listen to your “Syllabus Podcast” while walking to class. It helps you remember 2x better than reading.

7. Consensus

Best for: Finding scientifically accurate answers.

ChatGPT hallucinates. Consensus reads 200 million research papers to find the truth.

• The Magic: Ask a Yes/No question like “Does listening to music help with studying?”
• Hacker Feature: “Consensus Meter”
  • The Hack: It shows a “Meter” (e.g., 70% Yes, 30% No) based on actual studies. It then lists the papers that support each side. Perfect for “Literature Review” sections in your thesis.

8. Blackbox AI

Best for: CS/IT Students stuck on coding assignments.

If you are a coder, you know the pain of copying code from a YouTube tutorial.

• The Magic: It is built specifically for code generation and debugging.
• Hacker Feature: “Image to Code”
  • The Hack: Take a screenshot of a coding error or a code snippet from a YouTube video. Upload it to Blackbox. It extracts the code instantly and fixes the bug for you. No more typing manually.

9. Connected Papers (The Visualizer)

Best for: Finding related research papers.

Research is a rabbit hole. You find one good paper, but need 10 more like it.

• The Magic: Enter one paper’s title.
• Hacker Feature: “The Graph”
  • The Hack: It generates a visual “Spider Web” of all related papers. If Paper A cites Paper B, they are connected. You can visually see the “Mother Paper” that everyone else is citing, saving you hours of searching Google Scholar.

10. Goblin.tools (The ADHD Savior)

Best for: Overwhelmed students who procrastinate.

When you have a task like “Write Thesis,” your brain freezes because it’s too big.

• The Magic: It uses AI to break down tasks.
• Hacker Feature: “Magic ToDo”
  • The Hack: Type “Write my History Assignment.” Click the Magic Wand. It breaks it down into 10 tiny steps: “1. Open Laptop. 2. Create Doc. 3. Google Topic. 4. Write Intro…” It makes the impossible feel doable.

11. Scholarcy (The Flashcard Maker)

Best for: Last-minute exam revision.

You don’t have time to re-read the paper. You need key points.

• The Magic: It summarizes research papers into bite-sized sections.
• Hacker Feature: “Flashcard Generation”
  • The Hack: It automatically extracts key terms, definitions, and important figures from the PDF and turns them into “Flashcards.” You can just swipe through them on your phone to revise before the exam.

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Comparison Table

Tool Name	Free Plan	Best Feature	Unique “Hack”
NotebookLM	100% Free	Audio Podcast	Turn notes into conversation
Consensus	Unlimited Search	Fact Checking	Yes/No Meter
Blackbox	Free Extension	Coding Help	Copy code from Video
Connected Papers	5 Graphs/mo	Visual Search	Finding related papers
Goblin.tools	100% Free	Task Breaking	Magic ToDo List
Scholarcy	Free Trial	Revision	Auto-Flashcards

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Tool Name	Free File Limit	Citations Included?	Best For
ChatPDF	3 PDFs/Day (120 pgs)	Yes (Page No.)	Reading Books
Perplexity	Unlimited	YES (Links)	Research / Essays
Quillbot	125 Words (Free)	No	Rewriting
SciSpace	Limited	Yes	Science / Math
Otter.ai	300 Mins/Mo	N/A	Lecture Notes

Tutorial: How to “Chat” with your Syllabus

Don’t just study hard; study strategically.

Step 1: Download your Syllabus PDF from your university website.

Step 2: Upload it to ChatPDF.

Step 3: Use this Magic Prompt:

“Act as a study planner. Based on this syllabus, identify the 5 most high-scoring topics (based on weightage if mentioned, or general complexity). Create a 5-day study plan to cover these topics, starting from the easiest to the hardest.”

Step 4: Follow the plan. You just saved hours of planning time.

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Pro Tip: “The Plagiarism Shield”

Warning: Professors are smart. If you just copy-paste from ChatGPT, you will get caught.

Here is the Ethical Workflow to use ai tools for students free:

1. Research: Use Perplexity AI to find facts and sources. (Gather raw data).
2. Draft: Use ChatGPT to structure your thoughts and outline the essay.
3. Write: Write the essay yourself using the outline.
4. Polish: Use Quillbot to improve the grammar of your writing.
5. Check: Run the final text through ZeroGPT (Free AI detector) to ensure it reads as Human-written.

This way, you use AI to assist, not to cheat.

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Spider Web: Complete Your Project

• Analyze Data: Need to analyze survey data for your project? Use these [Link: AI Excel Tools] to generate charts instantly.
• Present It: Turn your finished assignment into a presentation using [Link: Best AI PPT Makers] to impress the class.
• Resume: Add “Research & Data Analysis” to your skills in your [Link: AI Resume Builder].

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Conclusion: AI is your Study Buddy, not your Proxy

AI doesn’t replace studying; it replaces the boring part of studying (finding the page, typing the notes, fixing grammar).

When you use ai tools for students free of cost, you free up your brain to actually understand the concept. That is how you top the class in 2026.

Upload your toughest PDF to ChatPDF today. Ask it: “Summarize this in a tweet.” Share the result in the comments below!

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)