For reviewers
| Post date: 2025/07/22 |
When a researcher is invited to review a colleague’s manuscript, they are expected to treat it as a strictly confidential document. Reviewers must not upload any portion of the submission into generative AI tools, as doing so risks violating the authors’ rights to confidentiality and intellectual property—and if the manuscript includes personally identifiable information, it could also infringe on data privacy regulations.
This confidentiality obligation applies equally to the peer review report. Because it may contain sensitive details about the work or its authors, reviewers should refrain from using AI tools to refine the language or improve readability of their feedback.
Peer review is a cornerstone of the scientific community, and Elsevier upholds the highest standards of integrity throughout the process. Evaluating a scientific manuscript is a human responsibility—one that calls for critical judgment and nuanced analysis. These essential aspects fall beyond the capabilities of current AI tools, which may produce flawed, incomplete, or biased assessments. Therefore, reviewers must rely on their own expertise and remain fully accountable for the content of their review.
This confidentiality obligation applies equally to the peer review report. Because it may contain sensitive details about the work or its authors, reviewers should refrain from using AI tools to refine the language or improve readability of their feedback.
Peer review is a cornerstone of the scientific community, and Elsevier upholds the highest standards of integrity throughout the process. Evaluating a scientific manuscript is a human responsibility—one that calls for critical judgment and nuanced analysis. These essential aspects fall beyond the capabilities of current AI tools, which may produce flawed, incomplete, or biased assessments. Therefore, reviewers must rely on their own expertise and remain fully accountable for the content of their review.
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For authors
| Post date: 2025/07/22 |
When authors incorporate generative AI or AI-enhanced tools during the writing process, these technologies should be used solely to refine language and improve readability. Human oversight remains essential—authors must carefully review and edit any AI-generated content, given that such tools can produce convincing output that may still contain errors, omissions, or bias.
Ultimately, authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of their work. They should clearly acknowledge the use of AI in their manuscript, with a disclosure appearing in the final publication. This kind of transparency strengthens trust among readers, editors, reviewers, and collaborators, and also ensures compliance with the terms governing the use of these technologies.
Importantly, AI tools should not be credited as authors or co-authors. Authorship carries responsibilities that only humans can fulfill—such as verifying the originality of the work, resolving questions about accuracy, and approving the final version for submission. Authors should also confirm they meet the authorship criteria and that their work respects third-party rights. Before submitting, they’re encouraged to review and align with the Ethics in Publishing guidelines.
The use of generative AI and AI tools in images, figures and charts
The use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies for creating or modifying images in submitted manuscripts is not permitted. This includes any enhancement, removal, introduction, or manipulation of visual features within images or figures. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance may be allowed—provided they do not distort or obscure the original content. To safeguard the integrity of visual data, manuscripts may be examined using image forensics tools or other specialized software to detect potential irregularities.
The only exception applies when these technologies are an explicit part of the research design or methodology—such as AI-assisted imaging techniques used to produce or analyze research data, particularly in fields like biomedical imaging. In such cases, their use must be transparently documented in the methods section. Authors must describe how these tools were applied, including the model or tool name, version, extension number, and the manufacturer. It’s also essential to comply with relevant usage policies and ensure proper attribution. Authors may be asked to submit unaltered image versions or raw composites used to create the final figures for editorial evaluation.
Generative AI or AI-assisted tools may not be used to produce artwork for graphical abstracts. Cover art generated using AI may be considered under specific circumstances—namely, if prior approval is obtained from the journal editor and publisher, all necessary rights have been cleared, and content attribution is appropriately provided.
Ultimately, authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of their work. They should clearly acknowledge the use of AI in their manuscript, with a disclosure appearing in the final publication. This kind of transparency strengthens trust among readers, editors, reviewers, and collaborators, and also ensures compliance with the terms governing the use of these technologies.
Importantly, AI tools should not be credited as authors or co-authors. Authorship carries responsibilities that only humans can fulfill—such as verifying the originality of the work, resolving questions about accuracy, and approving the final version for submission. Authors should also confirm they meet the authorship criteria and that their work respects third-party rights. Before submitting, they’re encouraged to review and align with the Ethics in Publishing guidelines.
The use of generative AI and AI tools in images, figures and charts
The use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies for creating or modifying images in submitted manuscripts is not permitted. This includes any enhancement, removal, introduction, or manipulation of visual features within images or figures. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance may be allowed—provided they do not distort or obscure the original content. To safeguard the integrity of visual data, manuscripts may be examined using image forensics tools or other specialized software to detect potential irregularities.
The only exception applies when these technologies are an explicit part of the research design or methodology—such as AI-assisted imaging techniques used to produce or analyze research data, particularly in fields like biomedical imaging. In such cases, their use must be transparently documented in the methods section. Authors must describe how these tools were applied, including the model or tool name, version, extension number, and the manufacturer. It’s also essential to comply with relevant usage policies and ensure proper attribution. Authors may be asked to submit unaltered image versions or raw composites used to create the final figures for editorial evaluation.
Generative AI or AI-assisted tools may not be used to produce artwork for graphical abstracts. Cover art generated using AI may be considered under specific circumstances—namely, if prior approval is obtained from the journal editor and publisher, all necessary rights have been cleared, and content attribution is appropriately provided.
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