To disclose an AI-generated figure in 2026, you usually write it in two or three places: a short statement in the figure caption or legend (tool, version, what the AI did, what you checked), a manuscript-level AI declaration, and — when the AI was part of the research or produced a data visualisation — the Methods section. Science journals and ICMJE-following medical journals also expect a note in the cover letter. Disclosure only covers uses the publisher allows. It does not make a generated image acceptable as raw experimental data. This guide sets out what each publisher asks for, with templates you can paste in. We checked every requirement against the publishers' own pages on 8 November 2026. To find out first whether your figure is allowed at all, read Can You Use AI-Generated Images in a Paper? 2026 Journal Policies Compared.
First, decide what kind of figure you are disclosing
Policies tell you where to disclose based on what the figure is, not which tool made it. Sort every AI-touched figure into one of four buckets before you write anything:
| Figure type | Examples | Can AI be used? | Where disclosure usually goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanatory / conceptual | Study-design schematics, pathway concepts, workflows, flow charts, teaching illustrations | Often yes, with disclosure (publisher-dependent) | Caption/legend and the AI declaration |
| Data visualisation | Plots, charts, heatmaps built from your dataset | Only when faithfully derived from your data by reproducible methods | Methods (Elsevier); caption/legend too at T&F and Wiley |
| Primary research image | Micrographs, histology, Western blots, gels, radiology, patient photos | No — generative AI must not create or alter these | Not applicable: disclosure does not make it permissible |
| Graphical abstract / cover art | Visual summary, journal cover | Restricted (e.g. Elsevier bars general-purpose generative AI for graphical abstracts; cover art needs prior permission) | Caption, plus whatever the journal requires |
If a figure falls in the third row, stop. No caption wording fixes a generated or AI-edited blot, micrograph or scan. Take that image from your original acquisition pipeline and make only the adjustments your journal permits, in established image-processing software.
What each publisher asks you to disclose (checked 2026-11-08)
| Publisher / body | In the figure caption or legend | Manuscript-level statement | Methods section | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elsevier | For explanatory images: the specific tool, its version, and how it was used. For graphical abstracts: name the tool | Separate section before the references, titled e.g. "Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process" | AI-assisted data visualisations: model/tool name, version, developer. AI used as a research method: described reproducibly | Keep records (prompts, outputs, evidence of edits); editors may ask for them. Policy |
| Springer Nature / Nature Portfolio | "Specific disclosure" in the caption or legend for AI-generated or AI-assisted visuals | AI Declaration: system used, purpose, extent of contribution | — | Visuals must come from verifiable inputs. AI visuals made from text prompts alone, with no verifiable source material, are not permitted. SN policy, Nature Portfolio |
| Taylor & Francis | A legend statement that the image was AI-generated, giving the tool name and version number, plus confirmation of: accuracy and originality, that the tool's terms of use were checked, the right to publish, and full author responsibility | "Declaration of AI use" statement | Required when AI is part of the research methodology | Keep every image version and prompt; share them on request. Images & figures, AI policy |
| Wiley | Required whenever AI generates or edits visual content: tool name and version, date/year of use, the AI's role, and your role | Acknowledgments, for AI help with drafting, editing or translation | Required when AI is part of methodology, data collection or analysis | AI-edited photographs and AI-generated "factual and evidential images" are not permitted. Guidelines |
| Science / AAAS | — | Methods or Acknowledgments, depending on the use case | Methods or Acknowledgments | Cover letter. AI-generated images and multimedia need explicit editor permission, disclosed at submission. Editorial policies |
| ICMJE (medical journals) | — | "The submitted work in the appropriate section" | — | Cover letter. Image creators are named as AI-assisted technologies, and nondisclosure "may be construed as misconduct in some circumstances." ICMJE |
| COPE (cross-publisher) | — | — | Materials and Methods (or similar): how the tool was used and which tool, including for "production of images or graphical elements" | AI cannot be an author. COPE position |
We could not load Cell Press's own author pages from our environment today (HTTP 403), so this table has no Cell-specific row. Cell Press journals are published by Elsevier. Start from Elsevier's policy and check the guide for your specific Cell journal.
Step-by-step: disclosing an AI-assisted figure
1. Log while you work, not the night before submission
Elsevier, Taylor & Francis and Wiley all expect you to be able to produce records. Taylor & Francis says outright that authors must keep all image versions and the prompts they used. For each figure, keep a small log:
Figure: 1 (study design schematic)
Tool / model: <product name>, <model name if shown>
Version or access date: <version string, or "web app, accessed 2026-11">
Developer: <company>
What the AI produced: first-draft layout + icons from my text prompt / sketch
What I changed: relabelled all arms to match Methods; redrew dosing timeline; removed decorative elements
Inputs: prompt text saved in figure-01/prompt.txt; sketch figure-01/sketch.png
Final file: figure-01/final.svg (exported 2026-11-07)
Checked by: <author initials>, against Methods §2.1
If your tool shows no version number, write down the model name and the month you used it. Wiley explicitly asks for the date or year of use.
2. Write the caption or legend disclosure
Put the disclosure in the legend of the figure it describes, not in a footnote somewhere else. A caption disclosure that satisfies the strictest list we found (Taylor & Francis) also covers Elsevier's and Wiley's requirements:
Figure 1. Schematic overview of the study design. An initial draft of this
illustration was generated with [TOOL NAME, VERSION/MODEL] ([DEVELOPER];
accessed [MONTH YEAR]) from an author-written description, and was then
edited by the authors. The authors verified the accuracy and originality
of all elements, checked the tool's terms of use, confirm they have the
right to publish this image, and take full responsibility for its content.
A shorter version for publishers that don't ask for the rights confirmations (check yours first):
Figure 2. Experimental workflow. Draft created with [TOOL NAME, VERSION]
([MONTH YEAR]); layout and labels were revised and verified by the authors.
For a graphical abstract at Elsevier, the policy table asks you to mention the tool in the caption, and general-purpose generative AI image tools must not be used to create it. Elsevier tells authors to use dedicated scientific illustration tools. If you are unsure whether your tool counts as one, ask the journal's editorial office before you submit.
Graphical abstract. Prepared by the authors using [TOOL NAME, VERSION].
3. Write the manuscript-level AI declaration
Elsevier recommends a section headed "Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process", placed at the end of the manuscript just before the references. Its suggested wording covers text. Adapt it so it names your figures as well:
Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the
manuscript preparation process
During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [TOOL NAME,
VERSION] in order to [create initial drafts of the explanatory
illustrations in Figures 1 and 3]. After using this tool, the author(s)
reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility
for the content of the published article. No generative AI was used to
create or alter primary research images or underlying data.
The last sentence is not required wording. Add it only if it is true, though: reviewers checking image integrity will want that boundary stated plainly.
For Taylor & Francis, your Declaration of AI use must cover the four points the publisher lists:
Declaration of AI use
The authors used [TOOL NAME, VERSION NUMBER] to generate draft conceptual
illustrations (Figures 1 and 4). The authors confirm the originality and
accuracy of this content, have checked the terms of use of the tool and
confirm its suitability for publication, and take full responsibility for
the integrity of the whole content, including the accuracy of references.
If you used no generative AI, Taylor & Francis asks you to say so. Its example sentence: "The authors report generative AI was not used in their research or preparation of this manuscript."
4. Use the Methods section when AI touched data or research
The Methods section is for AI that formed part of the research itself, or that built a figure from data, not for AI that only drew a diagram. Elsevier wants AI-assisted data visualisations disclosed in Methods with the model, version and developer, and made with reproducible methods. Wiley requires methodology disclosures to include the tool name and version, the date or year, the AI's role, and how the authors directed or reviewed its work. COPE's position statement asks for the tool and how it was used in Materials and Methods (or a similar section).
Methods – Figure preparation
Panels 3B–3D were plotted from the analysis dataset (Supplementary
Data 1) using [LIBRARY/SOFTWARE, VERSION]. Plotting code was drafted
with assistance from [AI TOOL, VERSION] ([DEVELOPER]; accessed [MONTH
YEAR]) and was reviewed, tested and revised by the authors, who confirmed
that every plotted value matches the underlying data. Prompts and the
final code are available in [REPOSITORY/DOI].
5. Add a cover-letter line where required
ICMJE asks authors to describe AI use in the cover letter and the manuscript. Science journals want it in the cover letter plus the Methods or Acknowledgments. Science also requires explicit editor permission for AI-generated images, so ask for that in the letter rather than hoping nobody notices:
Use of AI-assisted technologies: Figure 1 is an explanatory schematic
whose first draft was generated with [TOOL NAME, VERSION] and then edited
and verified by the authors; this is disclosed in its legend and in
[Methods/Acknowledgments]. [For Science journals:] We request the editors'
permission to include this AI-assisted illustration, and can provide an
author-drawn alternative if preferred. No AI was used to generate or alter
any image representing experimental data.
Mistakes that get disclosures questioned
- Disclosing a prohibited use. "Western blot cleaned up with an AI enhancer (disclosed)" is still a breach at Elsevier, Taylor & Francis and Wiley. Disclosure is not a permission slip.
- Prompt-only visuals at Springer Nature. Springer Nature's red tier covers creating content from text prompts without verifiable source data or material. Build the figure from author-developed content you can show, such as a sketch, your own diagram or your Methods text, and say so in the legend.
- Only one location. A declaration with nothing in the captions, or captions with no declaration, falls short of Elsevier's, Springer Nature's and Taylor & Francis's requirements.
- No version, no date. "Made with AI" tells the editor nothing. Name the tool, the model or version, and when you used it.
- Listing the tool as an author or citing it as a source. ICMJE, COPE, Science and Elsevier all rule this out, and ICMJE says referencing AI-generated material as the primary source is not acceptable.
- Forgetting licensing. Several publishers want you to confirm the tool's terms let you publish the output. Check them before submission, not after acceptance.
Disclosing a figure made with FigPad
If FigPad drafted an explanatory figure, disclose it like any other AI tool: name FigPad and the image model you selected, give the month you used it, and describe what you edited afterwards in the canvas or in exported layered SVG. Because the export is editable, you can make reviewer-requested label fixes without regenerating the whole image, which keeps your disclosure accurate across revisions (see how to edit labels in an AI-generated figure).
On rights, the live pricing page (checked 2026-11-08) says every plan, free included, carries authorization to publish generated figures in journal papers. You can also export a publication certificate (PDF) that editors can verify online. That helps with the "right to publish" and "terms of use checked" confirmations Taylor & Francis asks for. It does not replace disclosure. FigPad's own pricing FAQ makes the same point: check your target journal's policy, and never present generated images as primary experimental data.
To start an explanatory figure from a description or sketch, use the AI scientific figure generator.
FAQ
Where do I disclose an AI-generated figure — caption or Methods?
Usually both the caption and the AI declaration, and Methods only in certain cases. For explanatory illustrations, Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley all want a statement in the figure caption or legend, plus a manuscript-level declaration. Methods is where AI-assisted data visualisations (Elsevier) and AI used as part of the research methodology (Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, COPE) belong.
What details must an AI figure disclosure include?
At minimum: tool name, version or model, and what the AI did. Wiley adds the date or year of use and the authors' role. Taylor & Francis adds confirmations of accuracy and originality, that the terms of use were checked, the right to publish, and full author responsibility. Elsevier asks for "the specific tool, version, and how the tool was used" in each caption.
Do I need to disclose AI if I only used it to brainstorm a layout I then drew myself?
Wiley's visuals table lists exploration of illustrations that never reach the manuscript, or are fully recreated in established software, as not requiring disclosure. Other publishers are less explicit. If you are unsure, disclose. ICMJE warns that nondisclosure may be treated as misconduct in some circumstances.
Can disclosure make an AI-enhanced microscopy image acceptable?
No. Elsevier bars AI tools from creating or altering primary research images, including brightness, contrast or colour-balance changes, which belong in established image-processing software. Taylor & Francis strictly prohibits generative AI for creating or changing images of research outputs. Wiley does not permit AI-generated, modified or enhanced factual and evidential images.
Does Science allow AI-generated figures if I disclose them?
Only with explicit permission from the editors. Science's editorial policy says AI-generated images and other multimedia are not permitted without it, considers exceptions case by case (for example, papers specifically about AI or machine learning), and requires them to be disclosed at submission.
Key takeaways
- Sort each figure first: explanatory, data visualisation, primary research image or graphical abstract/cover. The type decides both whether AI is allowed and where you disclose it.
- For explanatory figures, disclose in the caption or legend and in a manuscript-level AI declaration. Use Methods for AI-built data visualisations and AI used as part of the research.
- Include the tool, version or model, date of use, what the AI did, and what you verified. For Taylor & Francis, add confirmations that you checked the terms of use and have the right to publish.
- Science/AAAS needs explicit editor permission for AI-generated images. Raise it in the cover letter.
- Disclosure never legitimises a generated or AI-edited primary research image.
- Keep prompts, versions and an editable source file, so you can answer an editor's request and revise without re-generating.
These policies change often. Every requirement above links to a publisher page we opened on 2026-11-08. Re-check your target journal's guide for authors in the week you submit.
