<p>This paper considers cases where AI is used to automate tasks perceived to <!--Query ID="Q1" Text="Please confirm if all the authors names are presented accurately and in the correct sequence. Kindly check and confirm whether the names of all authors has been processed correctly and amend if necessary."-->be “mere routine” and inconvenient to researchers. We term such uses “Convenience AI” and characterise the set of assumptions involved in making claims of convenience in relation to the role of AI in <!--Query ID="Q2" Text="Affiliations: Journal instruction requires a city and country for affiliations; however, these are missing in affiliation [1]. Please verify if the provided city and country are correct and amend if necessary."-->scientific discovery. While Convenience AI can save resources and give rise to novel forms of inquiry, our analysis underscores how its uncritical adoption bears risks for knowledge production in science, also because it often betrays the very notion of convenience that it is meant to foster. Critically, we show how the consistent association of Convenience AI with the goals of productivity, efficiency, and ease can itself contribute to the epistemic challenges posed by AI.</p>