Description
SurfSense is an open-source NotebookLM alternative for AI agents and open web research. It gathers live public information from across the web, including search results, community discussions, reviews, and videos, and turns it into cited briefs and alerts. Rather than reasoning over a stale index, it works from what the web says right now.
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The platform provides platform-native connectors for Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, Walmart, Google Maps, Google Search, Indeed, and general web pages. Each connector is a typed REST endpoint that can be called directly with a SurfSense API key, or exposed to AI agents through an MCP server so they can use each connector, such as a Reddit or Google Search scrape, as a native tool. An agent harness adds retries, structured output, and credit metering.
SurfSense also offers a knowledge base with file uploads and Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox sync, AI-powered semantic search across connected tools and documents, document Q&A with citations, and report, podcast, and video generation. It supports scheduled and event-triggered AI automations, real-time collaborative team chats, and a native desktop app. It is fully open source and self-hostable with no data limits; a cloud version starts with free credit and then runs on pay-as-you-go.
- CategoryAI Research Assistants
- Pricing ModelFreemium
- DeploymentCloud, Self-hosted
- PlatformsWeb
SurfSense's Core Features
Platform-native connectors for Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon, Google Maps, and more
MCP server that exposes each connector as a native agent tool
Typed REST API callable from any language
Agent harness with retries, structured output, and credit metering
Live web research with cited briefs and alerts
Knowledge base with file uploads and cloud storage sync
Document Q&A with citations plus report, podcast, and video generation
Open source and self-hostable with no data limits
How to use SurfSense?
Get started: Self-host from the open-source repo or sign up for the cloud version.
Connect sources: Add platform connectors and sync files or cloud storage into the knowledge base.
Call the tools: Use the REST API with your key, or add the MCP server so agents can call connectors.
Research: Ask a question and let the agent collect live data and synthesize a cited answer.
Automate: Schedule or event-trigger workflows to generate briefs, reports, or alerts.
SurfSense's Use Cases
- Agent web research
- Brand and product monitoring
- Lead generation
- Knowledge base Q&A
