Attitudes and perceptions of Generative Artificial Intelligence chatbots in the peer review of Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine research: A protocol for a large-scale, international cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies are transforming the research and publishing landscape by simulating human conversation and performing complex analytical tasks. In peer review, GenAI tools have demonstrated potential to summarize manuscripts, assess coherence, and suggest improvements to scientific writing. Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (TCIM), with its emphasis on holistic, patient-centered approaches, presents a unique context to examine these developments. Although medical researchers increasingly use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist with peer review, little is known about the perspectives of peer reviewers evaluating TCIM research. Understanding their views on the advantages, limitations, and ethical considerations of using GenAI chatbots in peer review is critical for ensuring their responsible integration. This international, cross-sectional online survey will explore peer reviewers’ attitudes and perceptions of TCIM research regarding the use of GenAI technologies in scholarly evaluation. The survey will focus on GenAI chatbots, tools designed to generate human-like text responses, and will include questions on participants’ demographics, familiarity with GenAI, perceived benefits and challenges of chatbot use across stages of peer review, and open-ended items to capture qualitative insights. By elucidating how TCIM peer reviewers view the role of GenAI in the peer review process, this study aims to inform best practices for ethical and transparent AI integration in scholarly publishing. The findings will provide timely evidence to guide policy development, promote responsible adoption, and support trust and collaboration within the TCIM research community.