Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Exlibris Social Gerontology Journal
This document sets out the rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by authors, reviewers, and the editorial team of Exlibris Social Gerontology Journal
The Editorial Team of Exlibris BGS permits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in preparing scholarly manuscripts submitted for publication, provided that transparency, research integrity, and full authorial responsibility for the publication's content are maintained. AI tools may support authors in working on a manuscript, but they must not replace original human thought or critical and responsible research and writing practices. This policy does not prohibit the use of AI; rather, it establishes the principles governing its permissible, transparent, and responsible use.
This policy applies exclusively to materials subject to scholarly peer review. It does not apply to book reviews, reports, or other materials that are not subject to scholarly peer review.
The policy applies only to articles submitted to the journal after the date on which it enters into force and does not apply retroactively to submissions made before that date.
Assistive AI tool — software or an AI-enabled function that supports an author's work without independently generating substantive content, for example, by correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, or style.
Generative AI tool — a tool capable of independently generating content, including text, translations, summaries, data, or illustrations. This category includes large language models (LLMs) and image generators.
Substantive use of AI — any use of a generative AI tool that affects the substantive content, structure of the argument, research results, or visual components of a publication. Standard assistive functions integrated into word-processing software, such as autocorrect or spell-checking, are not regarded as substantive use of AI.
3.1. Artificial intelligence tools may not be listed as an author or co-author of a publication. Authorship entails responsibility for the content of the work and the ability to provide informed consent to its publication, neither of which can be fulfilled by an AI tool.
3.2. The corresponding author, acting on their own behalf and on behalf of all co-authors, bears full responsibility for the entire content of the article, including any sections prepared or edited with the assistance of AI.
3.3. The use of AI does not release authors from responsibility for plagiarism, copyright infringement, or substantive errors, regardless of whether such issues arise through the actions of the author or as a result of the operation of an AI tool.
3.4. Materials subject to confidentiality requirements—including the content of manuscripts under review, peer-review reports, research participants' personal data, and content protected by third-party rights—must not be entered into publicly accessible AI tools.
3.5. The Editorial Team does not maintain a list of permitted or prohibited AI tools. The choice of a particular tool remains at the discretion of the author, provided that the principles set out in this policy are observed.
3.6. The Editorial Team relies on the author's statement provided in the Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence and does not conduct a separate verification of its accuracy. This does not release the author from full responsibility for ensuring that the declaration accurately reflects the actual use of AI.
4.1. Assistive AI tools may be used freely at any stage of manuscript preparation. Their use does not require detailed disclosure, except to acknowledge such use in the Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence referred to in Section 5.
4.2. Any substantive use of generative AI tools—including, but not limited to, translating text, developing the structure or argument of the article, preparing preliminary drafts of sections of the manuscript, supporting research methodology or data analysis, and preparing tables, illustrations, graphics, or supplementary materials—must be disclosed in the Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence.
4.3. Information concerning the use of AI, irrespective of the nature of such use, must not be included in any section of the main text of the article. The Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence, published together with the article in accordance with Section 5, is the only place in which the use of AI is to be disclosed.
4.4. Before submitting a manuscript, authors are required to verify the substantive accuracy, reliability, and originality of all content prepared with the assistance of AI, including the accuracy of citations and referenced sources.
4.5. Where the use of generative AI has had a substantive impact on the content of the article, the tool used must additionally be included in the reference list of the publication in accordance with APA 7 style. See: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt.
5.1. Every article submitted to the journal must be accompanied by a completed Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence. The declaration must be prepared on a separate form, made available to authors along with the journal's Author Guidelines.
5.2. The declaration must be completed and signed exclusively by the corresponding author, acting on their own behalf and on behalf of all co-authors.
5.3. The declaration must be submitted to the Editorial Team together with the article and will be made available to reviewers during the peer-review process.
5.4. Following acceptance of the article for publication, the content of the declaration will be published together with the article in a separate section entitled Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence.
5.5. This section will be placed immediately after the main text of the article, within the administrative statements section, alongside information concerning author contributions, funding, conflicts of interest, and data availability, and before the reference list.
5.6. Failure to include the Declaration at the submission stage constitutes grounds for returning the manuscript to the author for completion before it is referred for further editorial processing.
5.7. Template for the Declaration
Reviewers may use AI tools solely to improve the linguistic quality of their own review, while retaining full responsibility for its content and for the substantive evaluation of the manuscript. The use of AI to independently generate the content of a review is prohibited.
Reviewers are required to maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript entrusted to them. They must not enter the contents of this document or any other materials related to the peer-review process into publicly accessible AI tools.
Reviewers who suspect inappropriate or undisclosed use of AI by authors must report their concerns to the handling editor.
Members of the Editorial Team and Editorial Board may use AI in activities that support the editorial process, for example, when identifying potential reviewers, verifying sources, or improving the linguistic quality of texts, provided that no confidential content related to the peer-review process or personal data is entered into AI tools.
Suspected inappropriate use of AI by authors or reviewers will be considered in accordance with this policy.
8.1. Failure to submit the Declaration, the provision of false information in the Declaration, or the use of AI in a manner inconsistent with this policy may result in the rejection of the submission or the return of the manuscript for revision at any stage of the editorial process.
8.2. Where a violation is identified after an article has been published, the Editorial Team will determine the appropriate course of action in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Possible actions include publishing a correction or erratum, or retracting the article.
The Declaration of Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Form for Authors is a separate document made available to authors together with the journal's Author Guidelines.
This policy enters into force on the date of its publication on the journal's website and applies exclusively to articles submitted after that date ([01 March 2026).
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