Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research. Community Consultation Results

In November 2025, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) in collaboration with Microsoft, launched a global community consultation to explore current use of agentic AI by researchers and get their perspectives on its value throughout the research lifecycle. For this consultation, agentic AI was defined as ‘artificial intelligence systems capable of autonomous operation with minimal human oversight’. The consultation was open to all, regardless of AI expertise or experience, or geographical location. It builds upon RDA's previous collaboration with Microsoft, which had identified agentic AI as a critical capability need amongst researchers and recommended investment in automated data preparation tools.  

The consultation comprised two components: four online information sessions held across different time zones and an anonymous 15-minute survey. Survey respondents evaluated 11 proposed agentic AI tools that spanned the entire research lifecycle, from planning and funding through to publication and impact reporting. 

Three proposed tools emerged as clear community priorities: the Literature Librarian, which would search literature using natural language queries integrated with library subscriptions; the Data Director, designed to support research data preparation and sharing in compliance with FAIR principles; and the Funding Finder, which would identify relevant funding opportunities and support application processes. These top three rankings were reflected across both regional and stakeholder analyses, with the Literature Librarian, Data Director, and Funding Finder consistently appearing amongst the highest priorities.

However, it should be considered that contributions were unequal across stakeholder groups and regions, with European respondents (n=44) representing the largest regional cohort and researchers and scientists (n=33) comprising the largest stakeholder group. Overall, participants portrayed a complex, ambivalent future. Insights from this consultation will guide the next phase of work in 2026, which intends to focus on collaborative community development of an open, technology-agnostic blueprint for a priority agentic AI tool.