Elicit vs DeepSeek V4: Which Is Better in 2026

Last week, I spent four hours trying to synthesize literature on transformer pruning methods for a grant proposal. I started with traditional search, got frustrated, and ended up testing two very different approaches to solving my problem: Elicit, the dedicated AI research assistant, and DeepSeek V4, the 671-billion-parameter open-weight behemoth from China that's been making waves since its release.

Here's the thing—comparing these two feels a