Artificial intelligence (AI) has become part of everyday life for most researchers.  Whilst AI offers many new powerful ways to support research practice, there is also a need to ensure that the use and approach of AI remain ethical and in line with Communities’ Guidelines to ensure that what makes these spaces meaningful – human connection, conversation and knowledge exchange – remains central. 

To ensure you feel fully supported in your use of AI, we have set out some clear guidelines for your reference. These are in line with wider industry policies and expectations for ethical use.  

Guidelines for AI use across the Research Communities 

• Be accountable. You — not AI — are responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of your manuscript. 
• Do not list AI tools as authors. LLMs such as ChatGPT cannot take accountability and do not meet authorship criteria. 
• Declare AI use transparently. We strongly encourage you to share your thoughts and work in your own words. However, if you decide to use an AI tool, such as ChatGPT, MetaAI, Google Gemini, Claude, or other AI platforms to help generate text, data analysis, or content, acknowledge it and disclose your use of AI by labelling content that has been generated by AI. i.e. include a short declaration to state which tool/s you have used and for what purpose (for example, “This post has used Google Gemini 3 to help with xxxx”). 
• AI-assisted copy editing need not be declared when used only to improve readability, grammar, or formatting—but authors remain accountable for the final version. 
• Do not use AI to fabricate, plagiarise, or create false content. Verify and reference any AI-assisted output. 
• Avoid generative AI images or figures. These are not permitted for publication in your paper unless they meet specific exceptions (legally sourced, directly about AI, or based on verifiable scientific data) and are clearly labelled as 'AI-generated.' We always encourage you to use original images where possible. Please also note that original imagery (non-AI generated) has greater potential to be selected for wider social sharing across the Communities and beyond – for example, by the Nature Portfolio on Instagram. 
• Craft prompts responsibly. Do not include personal, sensitive, confidential, or copyrighted material. Avoid biased or harmful prompts and test outputs for appropriateness.  
• Please do not copy and paste directly from text generated using AI. Remember that you are legally responsible for the content you share, so make sure you check it before publishing it on the Communities. AI is not perfect and can make mistakes and falsify data, so ensure that you check any generated content and output before sharing it – especially any references the tools might suggest! 

Full details on our policies around AI use can be found in point 4.4 of the Communities’ Guidelines.  

Please note that AI-generated text, images, videos and audio content are subject to all of the Communities’ Guidelines and Website Terms of Use, and may be removed if they are in breach of either. 

Remember – you are responsible for ensuring that the generated content is appropriate, relevant, and that you have the right to share it. 

How to use AI appropriately 

If you do want to use AI, you could use it to summarise your research or provide a starting point for your blog that allows you to then focus on telling the wider, human story of your work that only you can provide. As a guide, we have provided some prompts that you may find useful. 

 Prompts 

• Please summarise this research article in 1-2 paragraphs, focusing on what was discovered, what methods were used, and why this is important for the field. Do not supplement the content and data with other sources or add anything that isn't included in the article, and ensure any referenced data is in line with the research paper. The generated summary should be easy to understand to a non-expert scientific audience. 
• Summarise the following research article with the output to be used as a blog post for a scientific, but not subject-matter-expert target audience. Focus on:  
• Context and background, why the study was needed 
• Aim of the research 
• Methods and approach 
• Key findings and insights explained in accessible language 
• Main takeaways, including conclusions and implications for future research, the wider field, and real-life applications 

You should then focus your efforts on telling the human story behind the research that AI could not represent, such as: 

• Who you collaborated on the study with and what their contributions allowed you to do; 
• What challenges you ran into and how they got resolved; 
• If you had to pivot your research, how did you navigate the change; 
• How you think this study has impacted you as a researcher, your career, and the field; 
• What you hope this research helps achieve. 

For more tips on writing a Behind the Paper blog post, have a look at our Help and Support post. 

What this looks like in practice: example structure 

Below is an example of the recommended structure of a Behind the Paper blog post in which AI has been used: 

Introduction: introduce your work with a summary of the research, created with the help of AI, using specific prompts and the DOI of your paper to generate an informed brief output on your methods, observations, and research findings. 

Behind the Paper: the personal 'story’ behind the research – why you undertook it, why it is important to you, and its wider value; the body of your blog – helping readers to connect with you, your work and the wider impact of your findings. 

Conclusions: personal reflections on the research, your overall experience, recognition of teamwork or collaboration, future implications, and takeaways. 

Further guidance 

If you are looking for further guidance for responsible and appropriate use of AI in your work, we recommend exploring the following content: 

• AI guidance for our researchers and communities: https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/ai/ai-guidance-for-our-researchers-and-communities 
• Using AI as a researcher: https://communities.springernature.com/posts/researcher-riddle-using-ai-as-a-researcher  
• Image manipulation: https://communities.springernature.com/posts/researcher-riddle-image-manipulation  
• Why universities need stewardship in the age of AI: https://communities.springernature.com/posts/why-universities-need-stewardship-in-the-age-of-ai  
• Research your AI research tools: https://ukrio.org/ukrio-resources/research-your-ai-research-tools/ (UKRIO)