NEWS

Springer Nature embraces AI tools across the publishing process, resulting in less friction and increased author satisfaction

In 2025, over 1.5m papers benefited from nearly 60 AI tools supporting screening, editorial evaluation, retention and research integrity — set to increase by 25% in 2026.

As global research output continues to see substantial year-on-year growth, publishers need to work harder and smarter to ensure the quality and integrity of research and maintain speed. Springer Nature is responding by investing in AI tools that are embedded across the publishing process — supporting authors, editors and reviewers at the points where they need it most – always with expert human oversight.

Central to this approach is Snapp, Springer Nature’s peer review platform — created with continuous researcher feedback. Now used by more than 50% of Springer Nature journals, Snapp provides a seamless publishing experience and surfaces relevant AI tools directly within existing editorial workflows. This targeted approach is delivering high levels of satisfaction with the platform among authors, editors, and reviewers, with 90%, 70% and 81% respectively rating their experience as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. The result being authors can spend more time doing research, and editors and reviewers can make better and faster decisions.

Frank Vrancken Peeters, Chief Executive of Springer Nature, commented:

“We’re embracing AI where it makes the biggest difference for researchers — reducing friction for authors, creating simpler workflows for editors and reviewers, and enhancing both the use and discovery of high-quality research. Our approach continues to be author-led, with transparency about where AI is used and clear human oversight and accountability, so we can continue to deliver the high-quality trusted research and publishing service our communities expect.”

The strong benefit researchers see in these tools can be seen in the following 2025 numbers:

• More than half a million ‘clicks to submit’ took place via Journal Finder, helping authors quickly identify the best journal for their work.

• Editor Evaluation tool was used across nearly half a million manuscripts, helping editors rapidly know if a paper is based on sound science.

• Peer Reviewer Recommender generated over 400,000 recommendations, helping speed up the process by identifying appropriate reviewers more efficiently.

• Journal Transfer Recommender made over half a million transfer recommendations (a 40% increase on 2024) helping authors?find?a more?suitable home for their manuscript, taking funding options into account.

• AI tools identified 25,000 papers as having issues such as image manipulation, fake references and fabricated text.

Springer Nature continues to take a responsible, researcher-led approach to AI, working with its community to identify where tools can have the greatest impact. Alongside established AI tools, the publisher is rolling out additional author-facing tools — including AI-generated research summaries, natural-language search within papers, and in-paper chat — to further support research discovery, accessibility and engagement.

www.springernature.com