Understanding How Peer Reviewers Use AI Tools

Understanding How Peer Reviewers Use AI Tools

HighWire completed another successful instalment of our Best Practices Webinar Series.  Industry experts from scholarly publishing discussed the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the peer review process.
 
Our panel explored how AI tools are being used by peer reviewers and publishers, the opportunities and challenges these technologies present, and best practices for responsible integration. 
 
Watch the recording:  

Panel

  • Dr. Ing Fabio Di Bello
    Molecular Neurology Unit
    Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST) 
  • Sven Fund
    Managing Director
    Reviewer Credits 
  • Lucia Steele
    Publications & Peer Review Manager
    AboutScience 

Key Highlights

  • Fabio shared how AI is being applied across different stages of the peer review process. 
  • Lucia discussed publisher perceptions of AI and offered practical guidance for integrating AI tools. 
  • Sven provided a helpful rundown of reviewer-friendly AI tools. 

The session featured:

  • Real-world examples of AI tools supporting peer review efficiency and integrity. 
  • Practical tips for responsible and transparent AI adoption. 
  • Insights into challenges, opportunities, and the evolving role of AI in scholarly publishing. 

AI Peer Review Tools Discussed by the Panel:

The panel discussed and shared multiple useful tools that are being used by peer reviewers and publishers. The list below shows details of the tools. 

 

Tool 

Description 

URL 

Prophy – AI Referee Finder 

Uses AI to match manuscripts with the most relevant peer reviewers. 

https://www.prophy.science/ 

Penelope.ai 

Examines whether a manuscript’s structure and references meet the journal’s standards. 

https://www.penelope.ai/ 

iThenticate 

Checks for plagiarism and text similarity across published sources. 

https://www.ithenticate.com/ 

StatReviewer 

Automates statistical and methodological checks on submitted manuscripts. 

https://www.statreviewer.com/ 

SciScore 

Assesses manuscript rigor and reproducibility based on journal guidelines. 

https://www.sciscore.com/ 

scite.ai 

Provides smart citation analysis and context for scientific references. 

https://scite.ai/ 

AIRA 

AI tool for screening research articles and recommending peer review actions. 

https://aira.pub/ 

LLMs (for generating summaries and reviews) 

Produces concise summaries or first-pass peer reviews from manuscript input. 

https://chat.openai.com/ 

LLMs (assisting reviewers) 

Helps reviewers evaluate manuscripts by suggesting critiques, strengths, and improvements. 

https://chat.openai.com/ 

ChatGPT Peer Reviewer 

Generates structured peer review feedback using LLM prompts. 

https://chat.openai.com/g/g-iJxL7NT1A-peer-reviewer 

Peer Review Collaborator GPT 

Assists reviewers in evaluating and refining reviews collaboratively. 

https://chat.openai.com/g/g-Mc2Br9rzd-peer-review-collaborator-gpt 

AutoExpert Academic (Improved) 

Offers AI-based academic editing, suggestions, and review support. 

https://www.autoexpert.ai/ 

Microsoft 365 Co-Pilot 

Supports review tasks by summarizing content, drafting emails, and organizing thoughts. 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot 

SciNote 

Manages lab data and research projects in electronic lab notebook (ELN) format. 

https://scinote.net/ 

Proofig 

Uses AI to detect image manipulation and duplication in scientific figures. 

https://www.proofig.com/ 

ImaChek 

Detects figure/image inconsistencies and manipulation in research articles. 

https://www.imagechecker.ai/ 

Scholarcy 

Summarizes research articles and extracts key points, references, and figures. 

https://www.scholarcy.com/ 

PubSURE 

Matches preprints or submissions with suitable journals and identifies gaps in manuscript readiness. 

https://www.pubsure.com/ 

Expert.AI 

Applies natural language understanding to extract, classify, and enrich content. 

https://www.expert.ai/ 

Parity AI 

Uses AI to ensure content equity and bias reduction during editing and production. 

https://www.parityai.com/ 

Evalueserve 

Offers editorial and analytical services including content enhancement and automation. 

https://www.evalueserve.com/ 

SciencePad / Scienc-Pad 

Offers AI tools for research discovery and scholarly content delivery. 

https://sciencepad.org/ 

Transkribus 

AI-based tool for automated transcription of handwritten and historical documents. 

https://readcoop.eu/transkribus/ 

Ontotext 

Semantic technology platform that enriches content using linked data and knowledge graphs. 

https://www.ontotext.com/ 

PubMed 

Database of biomedical and life sciences literature from MEDLINE and other sources. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

TrendMD 

Recommends related articles across a network of scholarly publishers. 

https://www.trendmd.com/ 

Dimensions 

Research analytics and discovery platform with linked datasets and publications. 

https://www.dimensions.ai/ 

Iris.ai 

Uses AI to help researchers find and connect scientific knowledge. 

https://iris.ai/ 

Altmetric 

Tracks online attention and mentions of research across social and news platforms. 

https://www.altmetric.com/ 

OpenAlex 

Open index of scholarly metadata, linking authors, institutions, papers, and more. 

https://openalex.org/ 

Averbis 

Offers text mining and semantic analysis tools for scientific and medical literature. 

https://averbis.com/ 

Yewno 

AI-based knowledge discovery platform using semantic relationships in content. 

https://www.yewno.com/ 

Kudos 

Helps researchers explain and share their work to broaden its reach and impact. 

https://www.growkudos.com/ 

Elicit 

AI-powered research assistant for literature review and question answering. 

https://elicit.com/ 

Semantic Scholar 

Academic search engine using AI to surface relevant research and citations. 

https://www.semanticscholar.org/ 

Lens.org 

Provides open access to scholarly and patent data for research and innovation tracking. 

https://www.lens.org/ 

Review My Paper 

AI tool that provides quick feedback on academic manuscripts before peer review. 

https://www.reviewmypaper.tech/ 

Library Med 

Medical AI tool for manuscript evaluation and literature organization. 

https://librarymed.com/ 

 

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