Arc Search vs Oxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant
Arc Search
arc.netOxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant
academic.oup.comSide by side
| Figure | Arc Search | Oxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · AI Search Engines | 8.1 (#9) | 7.4 (#22) |
| Privacy | The maker says Browse for Me sends the command bar content and search result content to OpenAI to generate summaries. | Oxford Academic says prompts are not used to train the assistant and conversation histories are not recorded. |
| Security | The maker says Arc Sync uses end-to-end encryption for sidebar data and names Argon2 and Libsodium sealed boxes in its technical details. | The page says messages are encrypted with TLS and that IP addresses are monitored for abuse, while listed usage statistics include message timestamps, retrieved sources, anonymized identifiers, and feedback. |
| Support | Arc Search users can contact the team from the app settings or submit a support ticket through the help page. | The FAQ page directs users whose questions are not answered there to contact Oxford Academic. |
Plans
Oxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant
- AI Discovery AssistantFree
In their own words
Arc Search
Arc Search is a free browser centered on Browse for Me, which searches multiple pages and produces an answer on a custom webpage. Its built-in blocker is described as stopping ads, trackers, pop-ups, and cookie banners. Other features include reader mode, incognito mode, website translation, and voice search. Inactive tabs are archived automatically, with help documentation listing intervals from 12 hours to 30 days. Browse for Me is the default search option; alternatives include Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Perplexity, and Kagi. Arc Sync can share desktop Spaces, pinned tabs, and Today tabs with Arc Search on iOS, but is unavailable on Android, and tabs created in Arc Search do not sync back to desktop. The maker says Browse for Me sends command-bar and search-result content to OpenAI to generate summaries. Arc Search supports iOS 16 or later and Android 10 or later. The maker also says Sync sidebar data uses end-to-end encryption, but the product is not currently SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified and does not offer account MFA.
Oxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant
Oxford Academic AI Discovery Assistant has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.