AI in Publishing and the Future of Academic Writing

Tremendous breakthroughs in NLP, computer vision, and machine learning have allowed us to hit major milestones in the development and use of AI solutions. The last several years have seen businesses being transformed after incorporating AI-based automation as a complement to human effort. This has also translated to the scholarly publishing world, with AI in publishing, such as smart academic writing tools and submission checks, becoming increasingly popular.

According to a global survey by McKinsey, 56% of respondents stated that AI solutions were used in at least one function—an increase from 50% reported in 2020.¹ The publishing world is no stranger to AI automation either. Another survey of publishing professionals showed that the AI adoption pattern is not very different from what we observe in the larger industry, with AI investment seen primarily in marketing and distribution.² The same report maintains that editorial departments can reap significant benefits from AI-based optimization.

AI in publishing

Leading these efforts in the academic publishing industry is Paperpal, a state-of-the art AI-based academic writing tool that was designed to introduce efficiencies early in the publishing cycle. Academic writing requirements are highly specialized compared to general or business writing. Research manuscripts need to follow traditional and well-defined conventions in language quality, tone, style, and structure; they must also comply with journal specifications stipulated in lengthy style guides in order to clear the journal editor’s screening process and move quickly to peer review.

A trailblazer for AI in academic writing

Paperpal’s AI has “learned” the technical nuances of academic writing, having been trained on billions of corrections from research manuscripts edited by professional editors. According to our routine benchmarking exercises, our cutting-edge machine-learning model has achieved near-human levels of accuracy and coverage across various academic disciplines. This means that while it can take up to several days for a researcher or copyeditor to polish a manuscript, Paperpal’s AI-based academic writing tool can provide a complete and accurate manuscript check within minutes. Simply submit a file on the Online Editor and download a fully edited and tracked manuscript in an instant; alternatively, the Word Add-In can be installed and run to get real-time suggestions while writing. Whatever the approach, Paperpal will significantly speed up the academic writing or polishing process required to improve manuscript quality, making it the ideal research article or thesis writing tool.

Apart from offering substantive language suggestions, Paperpal Preflight delivers a comprehensive manuscript evaluation report, flagging non-compliance with word count limits, structure, disclosures, and other journal-specific requirements. This makes it the perfect pre-submission screening tool for busy researchers, helping them catch potential misses before the manuscript is submitted to the journal. For journal editors, Paperpal’s AI check reduces the quantum of desk rejections due to basic errors and saves them hours spent screening manuscripts. Little wonder that Paperpal Preflight is the top submission partner for several global publishers, including Wolters-Kluwer, IOP, and IEEE.

With AI in publishing gaining ground, Paperpal is the future for researchers. It is single-handedly revolutionizing academic writing and research communication by empowering researchers to work better and achieve their publication goals faster. So take the first step; sign up for Paperpal and join the academic writing revolution.

References

1. McKinsey & Co. The State of AI in 2021. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/quantumblack/our-insights/global-survey-the-state-of-ai-in-2021 (2021).
2. Gould Finch and Frankfurter Buchmesse. The Future Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Publishing Industry. https://www.buchmesse.de/files/media/pdf/White_Paper_AI_Publishing_Gould_Finch_2019_EN.pdf (2019).