Introducing EndNote Fusion: Advancing the next generation of reference management
EndNote Fusion will bring proven EndNote and RefWorks capabilities together in a single cloud-based product and advance reference management to better connect discovery, analysis, and writing for researchers.
We’re proud to announce EndNote Fusion, a more unified approach to reference management from Clarivate. EndNote Fusion represents our long-term vision for a single, cloud-based platform that brings together EndNote and RefWorks capabilities while supporting reference management across browser-based, desktop, and hybrid environments.
Later this year, RefWorks will become EndNote Fusion, introducing a refreshed interface and new capabilities without disruption to existing RefWorks data, setup, or day-to-day workflows. While the RefWorks name will go away, the trusted capabilities that institutions rely on remain. For RefWorks customers, this means a familiar experience enhanced with new cloud-native capabilities.
For EndNote Desktop customers, this year brings no required change. Desktop workflows remain fully supported, and EndNote Fusion will become an optional way to extend value with cloud capabilities such as centralized administration and single sign-on.
Across EndNote and RefWorks, Clarivate supports millions of researchers and thousands of institutions worldwide. EndNote Fusion is the next step in evolving that support to better meet the needs of our community. Looking beyond this year, we are working toward a future where a single EndNote experience can support users at all levels while providing the administrative control and flexibility required to accommodate varied institutional environments and deployment models.
Consulting the community to guide our vision
Academic libraries and research organizations must balance diverse user needs and access models while minimizing disruption to established workflows. Through engagement with our EndNote and RefWorks user community, we heard a consistent need to modernize carefully, preserving stability while building a more unified foundation for the future.
RefWorks and EndNote are each valued for distinct strengths, and librarians are enthusiastic about our plans to bring those capabilities together in a way that doesn’t compromise existing functionality.
“With RefWorks as its foundation, EndNote Fusion integrates some of EndNote’s strongest features, offering users the best of both platforms within a single, cohesive system. The result is a powerful yet intuitive citation management tool that meets the needs of today’s academic community.”
How we’re advancing reference management
EndNote Fusion provides a unified foundation for innovation in reference management. Beyond the initial phase launching later this year, our roadmap focuses on three broad areas:
Seamless research workflows
EndNote Fusion is designed to support more connected research and writing workflows, helping users move more efficiently from finding references to organizing and using them. As an example, for institutions using Web of Science, this will include tighter connections that reduce friction. Researchers will be able to move references from Web of Science directly into structured EndNote groups that stay linked to the original search and refresh automatically over time. The broader EndNote Fusion vision includes additional integrations across providers.
Task-based AI guidance
Task-based AI guidance will help researchers work more effectively with the materials they have already collected, such as identifying connections across sources and suggesting useful next steps based on a user’s library, searches, or research focus. Our aim is to support researcher workflows in a responsible way that does not replace human judgment. Institutions will be able to manage access in line with their own AI policies, and AI capabilities will be introduced with governance and administrative control in mind.
More intelligent writing support
Enhancements to writing tools will build on core formatting capabilities to better support the process of drafting and refining manuscripts. As researchers insert citations, EndNote Fusion will help surface related or foundational papers and flag potential issues in a reference list, such as incomplete metadata or cases where a more recent or authoritative version of record is available.
In addition to new features, expanded administrative controls will help librarians and IT professionals manage access and infrastructure requirements across their organizations. This includes support for regional data hosting, with initial availability in EU data centers, to align with institutional policies around data residency and compliance.
Prioritizing continuity for our customers
As we introduce EndNote Fusion, our guiding principle is continuity. Our approach is designed to give librarians and information professionals time to plan, communicate, and align changes with their own cycles and priorities. We will continue to share clear, role‑specific communications as EndNote Fusion evolves, taking a phased approach that avoids disruption and gives institutions time to evaluate their options before making any changes.
For RefWorks administrators and users, there will be no disruption to data, institutional setup, or day-to-day workflows when EndNote Fusion is introduced later this year. Users will benefit from new capabilities introduced over time, without requiring a separate migration.
For users and institutions relying solely on versions of EndNote Online, future transitions will be clearly communicated well in advance, with sufficient time and guidance to ensure a smooth experience. These communications will begin later this year.
For EndNote Desktop customers, no action is required this year. Desktop workflows remain fully supported. When available, Desktop institutions will have the option to add EndNote Fusion to gain cloud-based capabilities such as centralized administration and single sign-on. We are committed to ensuring customers have a choice as we develop our offerings.
We recognize that institutions support diverse user needs. Our goal is to preserve that flexibility within a single solution that enables faster innovation in the future.
Charting a new path forward for EndNote
The availability of EndNote Fusion this year marks an important milestone, but it is only the beginning. A more unified and flexible foundation will allow EndNote to evolve alongside the needs of researchers and institutions. Our focus remains steady: to build on the workflows institutions rely on today while unlocking more connected possibilities for the future of reference management.
Learn more about what this means for RefWorks customers in 2026.
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