Add-on for Google Docs
A footnote that holds up when checked
Highlight a sentence and the cytado panel finds a verified academic publication that supports it — with the printed page number and a quote from that page. One click inserts a proper footnote.
100 citations a month free, no card. The add-on cannot see the rest of your document or files on your Drive.
Sound familiar?
You are writing a chapter in Docs. Twelve tabs are open: two databases, three PDFs, Scholar, a reference manager. You find a paragraph that fits your claim, scroll up for the authors, copy the year, and take the page number from the PDF reader. Back in the document you type the footnote by hand and format it for the fortieth time.
Or you take the shortcut and ask an AI assistant. You get an elegant paragraph with four footnotes, check the first one on Scholar — it does not exist. The second has a real author who never wrote that paper. The model has no access to libraries, so it fills the gaps with whatever sounds most plausible.
Both roads end in the same place: a footnote your supervisor cannot verify. The first because the page number came from a reader, not from the edition. The second because the paper does not exist.
This is what a fabricated reference looks like:
1. J. Miller, R. Hayes, Demographic change in post-transition societies, “Population Studies” 2019, no. 3, pp. 45–62.
The format is flawless, the journal exists, the names sound credible. No one ever wrote this paper — and that is exactly what makes it dangerous.
And this is a footnote with the wrong page:
In the PDF reader the quote sits on page 3 — and that 3 lands in the footnote.
In the printed journal it is page 612. A supervisor checking page 3 will find nothing there.
What the add-on changes
Instead of twelve tabs you get one panel on the right of your document. Highlight a sentence, receive a publication that supports it, and insert the footnote without touching the keyboard beyond the selection. The work stays where you write it.
Printed page numbers
We read publications page by page with the edition’s numbering preserved. “p. 612” in the footnote really is journal page 612, not page three of a PDF.
Zero invented sources
Only existing publications with a link to the original and a quote from a specific page. When nothing supports the sentence, you get “not found” instead of something adjacent.
A real Docs footnote
Not a parenthetical and not a sidebar box. A Google Docs footnote that numbers itself, moves with your text and survives export to Word and PDF.
Who this actually helps
Writing a bachelor’s or master’s thesis in Docs
Every chapter needs literature and you do not have weeks to dig through databases. Highlight a sentence, get a source with a page, insert the footnote — the bibliography grows with the text instead of appearing in a panic the night before.
A PhD or a journal article
Here a fabricated reference is not a slip, it is disqualifying. You get publications with DOIs and printed pagination, and a clear “not found” for an unsupported claim. You know what is documented before a reviewer does.
Several of you writing in one document
People pick Google Docs precisely because a team works in it. The add-on runs for each co-author separately, on their own account and allowance, while the footnotes land in the same file — no mailing versions back and forth.
A term paper due tomorrow
An essay for tomorrow with “at least five references” required. Instead of bolting literature on blindly, you highlight the five sentences that actually claim something, and each gets a footnote you can click and verify.
How a single footnote happens
The whole loop takes a dozen seconds and looks the same every time. There is no tool to learn here — there are three buttons.
- 1
Highlight a sentence
The one that needs a footnote. The panel pulls it in with “Use current selection” — nothing to retype.
- 2
Give your thesis topic
Once per session. The topic filters out neighbouring fields: “burnout” in education is not “burnout” in occupational medicine.
- 3
cytado looks for backing
We search a corpus of publications read page by page and come back with the one that genuinely supports your sentence — quote and page number included.
- 4
Insert the footnote
One click on “Insert footnote”. The footnote appears in the document, and you move on to the next sentence.
The publication in the mock is real, and the page number comes from its printed pagination — we inserted this very footnote in a live document during testing.
Install it, step by step
Six steps, four of which are clicks. Below you see exactly the screens the add-on shows.
1Install the add-on from Google’s store
Open the cytado page in Google Workspace Marketplace and click “Install”. The installation applies to your Google account — no admin approval needed if you write on a personal account.
Open the store page →2Approve the permissions
Google shows you what the add-on asks for. We do not request access to your whole Drive — only the document you are working in, plus permission to show a sidebar. That scope took four rounds of review with Google to settle.
3Open the panel in your document
In Google Docs pick Extensions → cytado → “Find source” from the top menu. A panel opens on the right — that is the whole workspace.
4Sign in with your cytado account
Click “Sign in with cytado”. A new tab opens: sign in, or create an account in half a minute, no card. Come back to the document and click “Refresh” in the panel — the one manual step, because Apps Script cannot refresh the panel on its own.
The cytado account is separate from your Google account — you create it once and it also works in Word, Chrome and the MCP connector.
5Select a sentence and search
Highlight the sentence that needs a footnote and click “Use current selection”. Type your thesis topic — that is what filters out sources from neighbouring fields. Click “Find source”.
6Insert the footnote in one click
You get a publication with authors, year, a quote and a printed page number. Click “Insert footnote” — a real Google Docs footnote appears, numbering and moving along with your text.
Once per document
On your first footnote you will see a “Select” window
You click “Insert footnote” and instead of a footnote a file picker opens, showing that one document. It is not a mistake. The add-on runs on deliberately narrow permissions — it reaches only files you point it at — and Docs does not treat an open document as pointed-at until you confirm it.
Click “Select” once and go back to writing: the panel notices the access on its own and inserts the footnote without another click. It will not appear again in this document.
The alternative would be asking for access to all your documents at once. Google refused us that scope, and rightly so — we prefer one click to that kind of convenience.
What the add-on sees, and what it does not
You write things in your document that are nobody’s business — from half-finished paragraphs to notes to self. The add-on’s permissions went through four rounds of review with Google and come down to this:
cytado receives
- the highlighted sentence — the one getting a footnote;
- the thesis topic you type into the panel yourself.
That is all. The sentence and topic are what the search runs on — without them there is nothing to look for.
It never receives
- the rest of the document — paragraphs you did not highlight;
- other files on your Drive, including ones open next door;
- your mail, calendar or contacts.
Details in the privacy policy and the terms.
Write somewhere else? One account covers it
The same allowance, the same history and the same sources work everywhere cytado reaches. You pick a tool, not another subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Does the add-on read my whole document?
No. cytado receives only what you submit: the selected sentence and your thesis topic. The rest of the document never leaves Google Docs, and the add-on cannot see files on your Drive — its permissions cover only the one document you are working in.
Why does a file picker open on my first footnote?
That is a one-time Google formality, not an error. The add-on deliberately runs on narrow permissions (“only files you point it at”), and Docs does not treat an open document as pointed-at until you confirm it with a single “Select” click. You do it once per document — the footnote then inserts itself, with nothing else to click.
How do I know the sources are real?
Every result is an existing publication with a link to the original, a printed page number and a quote from that exact page. Click the link and check it in a minute. When nothing supports your sentence, you get an honest “not found” — the add-on never invents a source just to show something.
How is a printed page number different from a PDF page number?
It matches the edition. The PDF of an article printed on journal page 612 is often its own page 3 — and that 3 is what lands in your footnote when you copy it from the reader. A supervisor checking page 3 will not find the quote there. We read publications page by page with the edition’s numbering preserved, so “p. 612” leads exactly where the quote sits.
Does it work in languages other than English?
Yes. The corpus covers English, Polish and German publications, and search handles Polish inflection — you write in your language and get sources with page numbers in it. The add-on panel itself is in English, but it is three buttons, and results come in the source language.
How much does it cost?
The add-on and the account are free; the free pool is 100 resolved citations a month, no card. Paid plans start at $19 a month. You pay only for citations you actually received — a “not found” is always free.
Does the same account work elsewhere?
Yes, there is one account. The same allowance and history apply in the Word add-in, the MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT, the Chrome extension and the panel on cytado.com. In the panel (Account → API) you can see how much each channel used.
How do I revoke access?
Two routes, both immediate: in the cytado panel (Account → API) deactivate the “Google Docs add-on” key, or uninstall the add-on in your Google account settings. You can do both.
Your next footnote is two minutes away
Install the add-on, highlight one sentence in your own work and see whether the source holds up. The first hundred citations a month are free, no card.