AI Disclosure Policies by Major Journals
A reference guide to AI disclosure requirements at Nature, Science, IEEE, ACM, Elsevier, Springer, and 15+ other major publishers and journals.
About This Page
This reference covers AI disclosure policies at major academic publishers, journals, and conferences as of March 2026. Policies change frequently. Always confirm the current requirements on the publisher's website before submitting your manuscript. If you spot an outdated entry, please let us know.
For a deeper discussion of how to write a disclosure that satisfies any publisher, see our guide on AI transparency requirements for journal submissions.
The General Trend
Nearly every major academic publisher now requires authors to disclose AI tool usage. No major publisher allows AI to be listed as an author. The specifics of where to place the disclosure and how detailed it needs to be vary by venue, but the underlying expectation is universal. If you used AI tools in your research or writing, say so.
An AI Usage Card generated at ai-cards.org captures all the information that any of the publishers below currently require. You can attach it as supplementary material or use it as the basis for an in-text disclosure tailored to your target venue's formatting expectations.
Publisher and Journal Policies
| Publisher / Journal | Policy Summary | Where to Disclose | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Portfolio | Authors must disclose all AI tool usage in research and writing, naming specific tools and describing their role. | Methods or Acknowledgments | Jan 2023 |
| Science (AAAS) | AI-generated text, images, and figures must be disclosed, with AI tools named and their contribution described. | Methods and Acknowledgments | Jan 2023 |
| Cell Press | All AI usage must be disclosed, with specific attention to AI-generated text and any AI involvement in data analysis. | STAR Methods or Acknowledgments | Mid 2023 |
| The Lancet | Authors must declare all AI tool usage and confirm that they take full responsibility for AI-assisted content. | Acknowledgments or dedicated statement | Mid 2023 |
| JAMA Network | AI-assisted content must be disclosed, including the tool used, the version, and the nature of the contribution. | Methods or Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| BMJ | Authors must report any use of AI in the writing or research process and describe the human oversight applied. | Transparency declaration | 2023 |
| New England Journal of Medicine | AI tool usage must be disclosed, with authors confirming responsibility for all content. | Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| PLOS ONE | Any AI involvement in writing, analysis, or figure generation must be reported. | Methods section | 2023 |
| IEEE | AI tools must be acknowledged by name with a description of their role, with particular attention to AI-generated figures. | Acknowledgments | Late 2023 |
| ACM | A dedicated AI disclosure section is required, describing each AI tool and its specific contribution to the work. | Dedicated section in paper | Late 2023 |
| Elsevier (general policy) | All journals require AI disclosure through the submission system and in the published manuscript. | Dedicated disclosure section | Mid 2023 |
| Springer Nature | Policy aligned with Nature Portfolio, requiring named tools, described usage, and author responsibility statements. | Methods or Acknowledgments | Jan 2023 |
| Wiley | Authors must describe AI tool contributions in the published paper. | Acknowledgments | Mid 2023 |
| Taylor & Francis | AI tools must be named and their contribution to the manuscript described. | Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| SAGE | AI disclosure required for all submissions, with details of tool usage and human verification. | Acknowledgments | Late 2023 |
| Cambridge University Press | Authors must disclose AI involvement and confirm they take responsibility for the content. | Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| Oxford University Press | AI tools used in research or manuscript preparation must be declared. | Acknowledgments or Methods | 2023 |
Conference Policies
| Conference | Policy Summary | Where to Disclose | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| NeurIPS | Authors must disclose AI writing assistance, and papers must include a broader impacts statement addressing AI tool usage. | Paper appendix or dedicated section | 2023 |
| ICML | AI tool usage in writing or research must be disclosed, with authors retaining full responsibility. | Paper body or supplementary material | 2023 |
| ACL | Detailed AI disclosure required, including tools used for writing, analysis, and any generation of experimental content. | Limitations section or Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| EMNLP | Follows ACL policy, requiring disclosure of all AI tool usage with specifics on how outputs were verified. | Limitations section or Acknowledgments | 2023 |
| CVPR | AI-generated content including figures, code, and text must be disclosed. | Supplementary material or Acknowledgments | 2024 |
| ICLR | Authors must disclose AI assistance in writing and research. | Paper appendix | 2023 |
| AAAI | AI writing tools must be disclosed, with a clear statement of the authors' own intellectual contribution. | Acknowledgments or Ethics statement | 2023 |
Key Observations Across Policies
Every venue prohibits AI authorship. Not a single major publisher or conference allows AI to be listed as an author. The universal position is that authorship requires accountability, and AI cannot be held accountable. For a detailed discussion, see our page on whether AI can be a co-author.
Disclosure location varies. Some publishers want the disclosure in the Acknowledgments. Others prefer the Methods section. ACM and Elsevier have moved toward dedicated sections. When in doubt, include your disclosure in the Acknowledgments and add a note in the Methods if AI was used as part of your research methodology.
Version information is increasingly expected. Early policies simply asked authors to name the AI tool. Current policies increasingly expect version numbers, access dates, and descriptions of how the output was verified. Noting "ChatGPT (GPT-4o, OpenAI, accessed January 2026)" is now the standard, not the exception.
The trend is toward more detail, not less. Publishers that started with simple disclosure requirements in 2023 have since expanded them. Expect this trend to continue. Providing thorough documentation now, even if your target journal does not yet require it, will save you revision effort when policies tighten further.
Disclosure applies to all forms of AI usage. Text generation gets the most attention, but policies at most venues also cover AI-assisted data analysis, code generation, figure creation, and literature search. If an AI tool contributed to any part of the work, disclose it.
How AI Usage Cards Help
The variation in disclosure requirements across publishers creates a practical headache. If you submit to Nature and get rejected, then resubmit to an Elsevier journal, you may need to restructure your disclosure statement for the new venue.
AI Usage Cards solve this problem by capturing all the information that any major publisher currently requires in a single, standardized document. You create the card once at ai-cards.org, and it serves as the master record of your AI usage. From that card, you can extract the information needed for any specific publisher's format.
Some authors attach the full AI Usage Card as supplementary material and write a shorter summary for the in-text disclosure. This approach satisfies even the most demanding policies while keeping your main text clean.
Stay Current
Publisher policies on AI disclosure continue to evolve. We update this page regularly, but you should always check the most recent version of your target journal's author guidelines before submitting. If you notice a policy change that is not reflected here, we welcome corrections.
For practical guidance on writing your disclosure, see our pages on disclosing ChatGPT usage and whether you need to disclose AI usage at all.
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