Rules for authors who use AI in some way when writing an article are rapidly evolving and are not consistent across journals. This article provides a synopsis of existing guidelines related to the use of AI in scholarly publishing.
If you have an idea of the journal(s) you are targeting for publication, check their AI policy before deciding to use AI. Some publishers forbid the use of AI. If you decide to use AI, consider recording any prompts you use, along with any resources you enter into an AI system.
The AI policies for major publishers are linked below, along with excerpts. Policies are changing as AI evolves, so please check the publisher site and read the full policy.
"Generative AI tools and technologies, such as ChatGPT, may not be listed as authors of an ACM published Work. The use of generative AI tools and technologies to create content is permitted but must be fully disclosed in the Work. For example, the authors could include the following statement in the Acknowledgements section of the Work: ChatGPT was utilized to generate sections of this Work, including text, tables, graphs, code, data, citations, etc.). If you are uncertain about the need to disclose the use of a particular tool, err on the side of caution, and include a disclosure in the acknowledgements section of the Work.
Basic word processing systems that recommend and insert replacement text, perform spelling or grammar checks and corrections, or systems that do language translations are to be considered exceptions to this disclosure requirement and are generally permitted and need not be disclosed in the Work. As the line between Generative AI tools and basic word processing systems like MS-Word or Grammarly becomes blurred, this Policy will be updated."
Please note, individual journals may have more specific requirements or guidelines for upholding this policy.
"Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies and a statement will appear in the published work. Declaring the use of these technologies supports transparency and trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant tool or technology.
Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author."
"We do not permit the use of Generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts."
View Elsevier’s generative AI author policies for books
"Firstly, because these tools cannot take accountability for such work, AI tools/large language models cannot be credited with authorship of any Emerald publication. Secondly, any use of AI tools within the development of an Emerald publication must be flagged by the author(s) within the paper, chapter or case study."
“The use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in a paper (including but not limited to text, figures, images, and code) shall be disclosed in the acknowledgments section of any paper submitted to an IEEE publication.”
“Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not currently satisfy our authorship criteria. Notably an attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, which cannot be effectively applied to LLMs. Use of an LLM should be properly documented in the Methods section (and if a Methods section is not available, in a suitable alternative part) of the manuscript.”
"Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content, write code, or process data) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts."
"Contributions by artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies to a study or to an article’s contents must be clearly reported in a dedicated section of the Methods, or in the Acknowledgements section for article types lacking a Methods section."
"The use of AI tools that can produce content such as generating references, text, images or any other form of content must be disclosed when used by authors or reviewers. Authors should cite original sources, rather than Generative AI tools as primary sources within the references. If your submission was primarily or partially generated using AI, this must be disclosed upon submission so the Editorial team can evaluate the content generated."
"Authors must be aware that using AI-based tools and technologies for article content generation, e.g. large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT), is not in line with our authorship criteria.
All authors are wholly responsible for the originality, validity and integrity of the content of their submissions. Therefore, LLMs and other similar types of tools do not meet the criteria for authorship.
Where AI tools are used in content generation, they must be acknowledged and documented appropriately in the authored work.."
"The author is fully responsible for the accuracy of any information provided by the tool and for correctly referencing any supporting work on which that information depends. GenAI tools must not be used to create, alter or manipulate original research data and results. Tools that are used to improve spelling, grammar, and general editing are not included in the scope of these guidelines. The final decision about whether use of a GenAI tool is appropriate or permissible in the circumstances of a submitted manuscript or a published article lies with the journal’s editor or other party responsible for the publication’s editorial policy."
AI Use and Copyright
Uploading full-text articles and book chapters into generative AI tools may have copyright or licensing implications. To minimize risk, use tools that don't train on or retain what you input, like Microsoft Copilot.
