Reviewers should be careful about using artificial intelligence (AI) tools during peer review. To protect author confidentiality, intellectual property, and the integrity of the review process, the following guidance applies:

Prohibition on Uploading Manuscripts to AI Tools

Reviewers must not upload, paste, or share any part of a submitted manuscript—including text, data, figures, or supplementary materials—with generative AI tools. Doing so may compromise confidentiality and breach ethical or legal responsibilities.

Permissible Uses of AI

AI tools may be used only in limited ways that do not expose manuscript content, for example:

• Conducting general background searches of publicly available literature
• mproving grammar or clarity in the reviewer’s own notes, not in the manuscript itself
• Supporting administrative tasks that do not involve manuscript content

AI tools must never be used to assess, review, summarise, or judge a manuscript’s arguments, data, or findings.

Reviewer Accountability

Every review must reflect the reviewer’s own independent academic judgement. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the fairness, accuracy, and integrity of their reports, even where AI has been used for limited support tasks that do not involve manuscript content.