Understanding AI Disclosures: Purpose, Guidelines, and Templates

Academics aren’t just “trying out AI” anymore — they’re using it in everyday research and writing workflows. But using AI also creates a new responsibility: to be open about how it influenced your work. Clear and transparent AI disclosures help protect academic integrity, clarify who is accountable for the ideas in a piece of work, and prevent errors that could harm trust or the scientific record.  

In this article, we delve into why AI disclosures matter in academia, peek into the evolving AI policy landscape, discuss when and how to declare AI use in your academic writing, and finally introduce a trusted AI research assistant that makes this process simpler. 

Why AI Disclosure Matters?

Being transparent about AI use isn’t just a courtesy, it is essential for trust, academic integrity, and author credibility and accountability. As per the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), AI disclosures are a key part of responsible academic practice and essential to ensure research transparency.  

When authors disclose that they’ve used an AI writing tool like ChatGPT to paraphrase text, summarize sections, or assist in literature searches, it helps readers understand how the writing was shaped and where ideas originated. Transparency not only protects the scientific record, it reduces the risk of fabricated references, hidden edits, or unclear accountability if errors emerge later.  

Publishers, research funders, and universities are now formalizing guidelines with this expectation — AI can assist, but authorship and final accountability must remain human. Most major publishers and editorial bodies expect this level of openness, not only to protect authors, but because it helps reviewers and future readers interpret the work more accurately. Higher education institutions are also guiding students to follow similar protocols in their coursework and theses. The idea is to treat AI disclosures as part of your academic writing process, not as a bureaucratic add-on! 

Common Pitfalls and Ethical Considerations

Despite the presence of AI guidelines, many researchers and students still make mistakes when using AI. Here are two common ones to avoid: 

1. Authorship and accountability 
AI tools cannot take responsibility for what they produce. COPE and major publishers explicitly state that listing an AI model as an author is not allowed. Authorship implies accountability, and only human contributors can meet that standard. 

2. Over-reliance and learning impact 
For students, overusing AI to draft or rewrite text can weaken essential writing skills: idea development, structure, and critical editing. While AI can improve mechanics, it should only be used as an assistant, not as a quick shortcut.  

Evolving Institutional AI Guidelines

Major publishers such as Elsevier, Wiley, and others have published explicit guidelines that AI cannot be listed as an author and that its use should be declared, often in the methods, acknowledgements, or a dedicated disclosure section. It’s important to note that journals may differ in the level of detail required: some ask only for a brief line in manuscripts, while others want it added in the manuscript and the cover letter. Most publishers require authors to clearly mention the name of the tool, how it was used, and a clear description of how the AI output was verified by human authors.   

Universities are also issuing AI guidance. Top institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Princeton have strict guidelines for students and researchers. These explain how AI tools can be used and mandate AI disclosure in coursework and research contexts; they also emphasise data privacy, academic integrity and instructor permission for use in assessments.  

While it’s important to follow your journal’s and institution’s guidelines on AI use, remember that these rules are still evolving. Be vigilant and always check for potential changes before you submit.  

AI in Academia: Balancing Productivity and Integrity

So, how much AI is too much in academia, and when should you disclose? This essentially depends on whether you are using AI as a general assistant or whether it has shaped and substantially contributed to your work. Assistive AI use (e.g., basic grammar checks and  proofreading) may not need to be disclosed, but substantive AI use (e.g., generating or interpreting data, creating visuals, or paraphrasing) must be declared.  

Non-native English writers often rely on AI writing tools to improve clarity, a legitimate productivity gain, but this also raises questions about parity, provenance, and whether the edits masked gaps in conceptual understanding. What matters most here is human oversight — AI can assist, but authors remain accountable.  

One simple solution: when in doubt, disclose AI use. With most leading publishers and universities now requiring formal AI disclosure statements, it’s better to err on the side of full disclosure to ensure transparency and ethical AI use. It is also generally advised to retain evidence of human review, track AI contributions to your work, and keep process logs of your interactions with AI as evidence to prove your intellectual contribution should the need arise. 

Explore how Paperpal’s AI Footprint feature helps researchers maintain transparency by automatically tracking AI assistance and ensuring compliance with journal and institutional AI disclosure requirements.

How to Disclose AI: Templates You Can Use

Now that we’ve spoken about the importance of AI disclosures, and when you should declare its use, let’s look at how to write AI use statements. In AI disclosures, authors are generally required to name the AI tool used; specify how it was used (purpose); and confirm that authors have reviewed and approved all AI-assisted content.   

To help you get started, we’ve created two simple, ready-to-use AI disclosure templates that you can refer to for your manuscript, thesis, or coursework requirements. 

For classwork / assignments: 

“For this assignment, I used [AI tool(s)] for [brainstorming / concept breakdown / drafting purpose(s)]. The AI outputs were reviewed, edited, and integrated into my work, reflecting my personal understanding and aligns with academic integrity policies of my university.” 

For journal submission: 

“During manuscript preparation, the author(s) used [Tool name, version] to assist with [literature search / summarization / drafting purpose(s)]. All outputs were critically reviewed and verified by the author(s); no conclusions were altered without human oversight. The author(s) take full responsibility for the content of the published work” 

Craft Publisher-Aligned AI Disclosures with Paperpal

AI disclosure requirements differ across publishers, universities, and even subject areas, with each specifying its own format and level of detail. If you are looking for support with publisher-specific phrasing, try Paperpal’s AI Disclosure Templates. Apart from standard AI disclosure templates, it offers curated options that align with guidelines from 14 major publishers, making it easy to write clear, effective AI use statements in a click. Paperpal simplifies this process, with the option to add these customized AI disclosures directly within your acknowledgements or methods sections, helping to maintain transparency, accountability, and academic integrity across all forms of scholarly writing. 

Write Responsibly, Write Confidently 

AI disclosure is now non-negotiable in academic writing. Most journals and universities allow the use of AI to enhance clarity and productivity, but always track how you are using AI and declare it transparently. Before submitting your work, check your journal and institutional guidelines, keep simple records of prompts or AI outputs, and add a short, honest statement acknowledging AI use as required.  

Remember: A clear AI disclosure statement not only makes reviews smoother, it builds credibility, clarifies intellectual contributions, safeguards academic integrity, and ensures author accountability. We hope this guide helps you navigate both AI use and AI disclosures more confidently, leaving you with simple practices and templates you can apply directly to your own academic writing. Good luck! 

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