Reviewed by the NexaToolkit team · Last reviewed June 2026. AI citations still need verifying — models can cite sources that don’t say what they claim. We flag that clearly. NexaToolkit may earn a commission from links on this page — it never changes what we recommend.
Research is half finding sources and half keeping track of them — and the second half is where citations get sloppy. Sider AI lives in your browser sidebar, reads the page you’re on, and helps pull and cite sources as you work. Here’s how to use it for research without the citation pitfalls, with real 2026 pricing.
Step 1: install Sider and pick a tier
Sider runs about $8.99/month for its standard plan (higher tiers for more advanced-model usage), works as a Chrome/Edge sidebar, and can switch between multiple underlying models. It’s one of the cheapest ways to keep an AI assistant on every page.
Step 2: summarize and extract as you browse
On any article or PDF, Sider summarizes the page and pulls key claims with their source URL — so your notes carry the citation automatically instead of you hunting for it later.
Step 3: build a cited reference list
Collect the page-level citations Sider captures into your doc or reference manager. The workflow shines for literature scans where you’re moving through many tabs and need each fact tied to its origin.
The citation caveat (don’t skip)
AI can misattribute — summarize a claim and cite a page that doesn’t actually support it. Always click through and confirm the source says what the AI claims before you rely on it. Sider speeds the gathering; you own the verification.
Browser research assistants compared
| Tool | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sider | ~$8.99/mo | In-browser summarize + cite |
| Monica | ~$12/mo | All-round browser AI assistant |
| Perplexity | $20/mo | Sourced answers + search |
| ChatGPT | $20/mo | General reasoning (less in-page) |
A real scenario
A grad student scanning 30 sources for a literature review: Sider ($8.99) summarizes each page in the sidebar and captures the claim-plus-URL as they go, so their notes arrive already cited instead of needing a frantic source-hunt at the end. A multi-day task compresses to an afternoon. The hard rule that keeps the work honest: every AI-captured citation gets a click-through check before it lands in the final draft — models sometimes attach a real-looking source to a claim it doesn’t support, and an unverified citation is worse than none in academic or professional work.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Sider cost?
About $8.99/month for the standard plan, with higher tiers for more advanced-model usage. It runs as a Chrome/Edge sidebar and can switch between multiple underlying AI models.
Can Sider cite sources automatically?
It captures page-level summaries with their source URLs as you browse, which speeds citation. But always verify each citation by clicking through — AI can attach a source that doesn’t actually support the claim.
Sider or Perplexity for research?
Sider ($8.99) is an in-browser assistant that works on whatever page you’re reading; Perplexity ($20) is a sourced-answer search engine. Use Sider to summarize-and-cite while browsing, Perplexity for direct sourced Q&A.
More: see our AI research tools for knowledge workers and best AI Chrome extensions.
