Artificial intelligence in health professions education publishing: A content analysis of journal and publisher guidance

INTRODUCTION: Artificial intelligence (AI) is being widely used by authors, reviewers and editors in the academic publishing process. However, there remains ambiguity about the boundaries of AI use. Amid this growing uncertainty, editors and publishers face an ongoing tension between a desire to advance the academic publishing process and a need to uphold scientific integrity. This study examined advisory and guideline statements about AI use by health professions education (HPE) journals. METHODS: We collected a corpus of texts relating to the use of AI in HPE journals from 22 HPE journals, 6 respective publishers and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) policies in January 2026 relating to the use of AI in academic publishing. The corpus was examined using content analysis. RESULTS: Five main themes were identified from the analysis: 1) Accountable governance, 2) Protection of ethical standards, 3) Safeguarding of research integrity, 4) Maintenance of human oversight, and 5) Balancing of opportunities and risk. DISCUSSION: Overall, HPE journals predominantly frame the use of AI in academic publishing as a risk rather than an opportunity, with the overarching concern being a potential compromise of scientific integrity. Editors need to manage various tensions related to AI use and disclosure, including ensuring that policies keep up with the speed of technological advancement, and potentially broader impacts on the scholarly HPE field. As guidance on AI use continues to evolve, authors, reviewers and editors must ensure that they actively maintain and optimise their policies and practices in response to emerging evidence, including of unintended consequences.