Ask what AI did, why it was used, how a journalist checked its output, whether the use was disclosed, how sensitive information was protected, and who is accountable for the published story. The most useful answer explains the process—not just that a human reviewed it—and gives you evidence you can inspect.
What questions should readers ask about AI-assisted journalism?
Use these questions to assess a specific story. AI assistance can mean anything from transcribing an interview to generating an image, and those uses carry different risks.
- What role did AI play? Was it used to transcribe, translate, extract data, assist with research, draft or edit text, suggest a headline, create an image, or do something else?
- Why was AI used for this task? Did it help journalists work through a large collection of documents or data, or replace a step that depended on journalistic judgment?
- Who checked the output, and how? Did a journalist or editor compare claims with original records, sources, or other evidence? Who has authority to correct the story?
- Can important claims be traced to evidence? For reporting based on documents or data, can you inspect the underlying records or understand how the newsroom reached its conclusion?
- Did AI create or alter anything shown or heard? If a story includes synthetic or manipulated images, audio, or video, does it identify the material and give it context?
- Does the disclosure explain the process? Does it say what AI did, what a person reviewed, and who remains responsible for the story?
- How were confidential sources and unpublished material protected? Were source identities, unpublished drafts, or confidential documents entered into an external AI service, and what safeguards applied?
- Who is accountable if the story is wrong? Can you identify the newsroom, editor, or journalist responsible for the work and its corrections?
What does a credible answer look like?
Specifics about the task, not a vague AI label
“AI-assisted” does not say whether a tool transcribed an interview, extracted figures from documents, drafted paragraphs, or generated an image. Ask for the task and its scope. The Associated Press (AP) describes possible uses such as debugging code and extracting structured data, while warning that AI can introduce errors and require additional verification. AP’s account of AI and data journalism also describes a Big Local News project in which users could trace each data point to its source.
Verification against evidence
A confident-sounding answer from a tool is not proof. Reuters’ standards require its journalists to independently verify and fact-check AI-generated facts, sources, and claims, and say that Reuters and its journalists remain responsible for published content. AP’s generative-AI standards treat output as unvetted source material to be evaluated through editorial judgment and sourcing standards. These are stated policies of particular organizations, not a guarantee of what happened in every story.
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Human review is meaningful when the reviewer can access the underlying evidence, checks the material that matters, and has editorial authority. A bare “human reviewed” disclosure does not tell readers whether claims were checked against original records or whether the reviewer could correct them.
Disclosure that describes material use
A useful disclosure explains AI’s role and the human oversight around it. AP says it sets disclosure standards when generative AI plays a material role in published content. Its July 2026 standards call for clear identification and context when AI-generated or manipulated material is included. Reuters, by contrast, prohibits generative AI from creating or enhancing its visual journalism while permitting approved assistance that does not alter the underlying visuals. These examples show why readers should look at the named outlet’s policy rather than assume there is one universal rule.
Protection for sources and unpublished work
Ask whether sensitive material was shared with an external AI platform and what protections applied. The Thomson Reuters Foundation’s 2025 newsroom guide specifically flags confidential documents, source identities, and unpublished drafts as material that needs safeguards in newsroom policy. A story’s AI disclosure may not answer this operational question; the newsroom may need to explain its policy separately.
How much does human oversight matter to readers?
A 2025 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism survey across Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, the UK, and the US found that 12% of respondents were comfortable with news made entirely by AI, compared with 21% when there was some human oversight. On average across those six countries, 33% thought journalists always or often checked AI outputs before publication; the share ranged from 25% in the UK to 42% in Japan and 44% in Argentina. These figures measure respondents’ views, not the actual checks performed by every newsroom, and the report notes that people may not know what happens inside newsrooms. Read the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe same report found that respondents expected generative AI to make news less trustworthy (net score −19) and less transparent (−8), while expecting it to make news cheaper to produce (+39) and more up to date (+22). These are net differences in perceptions, not measurements of actual quality or accuracy. They help explain why clear accounts of oversight matter, but they do not establish whether any particular AI-assisted story is reliable.
How can you compare two AI-assisted stories?
Apply the same checks to each story rather than judging by whether an outlet uses AI at all. Consider:
- Role and extent: What task did AI perform, and how much of the published material did it affect?
- Stakes: Did the assistance affect a consequential claim, or a lower-risk production task?
- Evidence: Were claims checked independently against original records or other reliable sources?
- Disclosure: Does the explanation describe both the tool’s role and the human oversight?
- Source protection: Were confidential sources and unpublished material handled with safeguards?
- Accountability: Is a responsible editor or newsroom identifiable, with a clear route for corrections?
Keep three things distinct: an organization’s published policy, what it says happened in this particular story, and what you can verify as a reader. A policy sets a standard; it does not, on its own, document the steps taken on an individual assignment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do major newsroom policies say?
AP’s July 23, 2026 standards say editorial judgment, verification, and accountability remain the responsibility of AP journalists. Reuters’ standards likewise say responsibility for published content stays with Reuters and its journalists, whether or not an AI tool helped create it. Both are examples of named news organizations’ policies, not universal industry rules. AP’s announcement of its generative-AI standards and Reuters Journalistic Standards describe their respective approaches.
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