Because of the quickly evolving nature of artificial intelligence, we will continue to update and refine these policies when appropriate.
Artificial Intelligence Policy for Authors
The following guidance is subject to adjustment or refinement in accordance with technology advances.
Authors preparing work to submit to Applied Animal Science may use artificial intelligence tools during the research process, but not as substitutes for human critical thinking, expertise, and evaluation. The application of artificial intelligence technology must be under human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as artificial intelligence tools can generate seemingly authoritative output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
Authors who use generative artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies must include a disclaimer in the Notes section of their article (see Artificial Intelligence Disclosure below) upon submission.
Authors remain fully accountable for their submissions, published articles, and any tools or sources they use in their creation. Authors take full responsibility for the accuracy of all content, including the verification that all claims, citations, and analyses align with their expertise and research.
Authors should thoroughly review the terms, conditions, licenses, or terms of use associated with any artificial intelligence technology they use. They must ensure that the artificial intelligence platform does not claim ownership of their content or impose usage restrictions that could infringe upon their rights, the journal’s rights, or the publisher’s rights.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Writing
Authors may only use generative artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly’s writing assistant, and Jasper) in the writing process to improve readability and language.
Authors may not use output from artificial intelligence agents or deep research directly as the text of their manuscript.
Artificial intelligence output may only serve as inspiration in the manuscript-preparation process, and the manuscript must represent the authors’ authentic and original contribution and reflect the authors’ own analysis, interpretation, and ideas. Additionally, authors must carefully check all artificial intelligence–generated output for factual accuracy, comprehensiveness, and impartiality, and verify all sources.
Artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies must not be listed as an author or coauthor, or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans, as outlined in Elsevier’s artificial intelligence policy for authors.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Figures and Images
Authors may not use artificial intelligence tools to create, alter, or manipulate original research data and results. In addition, authors may not use generative artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools in the production of artwork, such as for graphical abstracts or figures.
The only exception is if the use of artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools is part of the research design or research methods (such as in artificial intelligence–assisted imaging approaches to generate or interpret the underlying research data). If this is done, such use must be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section. This should include an explanation of how the artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools were used in the image creation or alteration process, and the name of the model or tool, version and extension numbers, and manufacturer. Authors should adhere to the artificial intelligence software’s specific usage policies and ensure correct content attribution.
Artificial Intelligence Disclosure
In the Notes section, authors must disclose all artificial intelligence technologies used, detailing their purpose, any influence on key arguments or conclusions, and the methods used to personally review and verify artificial intelligence–generated content:
During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [tool or service] in order to [reasons for use]. After using [tool or service], the author(s) [detail any influence on key arguments or conclusions] and [describe the extent of your oversight]. The author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
If the author has not used AI, or has used only basic tools (for example, those that check grammar, spelling, or references), the following statement must be supplied:
The author(s) state that neither artificial intelligence nor artificial intelligence–assisted tools were used during the preparation of this work.