Emphasize human involvement to build trust with your use of AI

Published on March 11, 2025March 11, 2025 by Lynn Walsh | Reading Time: 3 minutes

Want to get this Trust Tips newsletter in your inbox each Tuesday? Subscribe here.

Last week, The LA Times publicly disclosed a new AI-driven approach to generating counterpoints in opinion pieces. Their transparency is commendable, but their disclosure reveals what happens when human involvement is absent.

The disclosure said, “…The AI content is not reviewed by journalists before it is published.”

Pointing out that humans were not involved in reviewing content when AI is used should be done if that is indeed the case. But according to our research, audiences are most comfortable when people are part of the process — when there is human review.

Through research with Benjamin Toff at the University of Minnesota and with newsroom partners, we’ve been exploring how transparency around journalists’ use of AI impacts audience trust.

As part of that work, we surveyed 2,000 Americans to better understand what language news consumers prefer in AI use disclosures. Based on this research, we are recommending journalists disclose their use of AI and, in those disclosures, do the following:

1. Highlight human involvement. When people know journalists are overseeing AI-generated work, they say they feel more comfortable. If humans do NOT review AI-generated content before it publishes, you should be transparent about that. But know that removing human oversight entirely — like the LA Times — can fuel public skepticism and frustration.
2. Be specific. Vague statements about AI use are not preferred by users, according to our research. Audiences respond more positively to explanations containing more details about how AI was used and why. Instead of: “AI was used to allow for more investigative reporting. Consider: “AI was used to quickly review public records and analyze the large dataset to identify patterns.” This approach clarifies AI’s role and demonstrates its value to readers.
3. Focus on how AI use improves the user’s experience. When disclosing AI use, emphasize how it enhances content quality, rather than just increasing quantity. In our research, audiences responded better when shown descriptions about how AI was improving accuracy or providing depth rather than simply generating more content. A key question to answer about your AI use: How does this benefit your audience?
4. Don’t get caught up in tech terms. Our research shows that whether you call it “AI” or an “automated tool” has little impact on audience perceptions.

What that means for journalists

We know most people want the use of AI in news content disclosed. But, how you disclose that use is just as important. We are continuing to explore how journalists can best do this while also building trust (or at least not losing trust). 

If you are using AI in your journalism and want help drafting a disclosure, use our fill-in-the-blank example below:

In this story we used (AI/tool/description of tool) to help us (what AI/the tool did or helped you do). When using (AI/tool) we (fact-checked, had a human check, made sure it met our ethical/accuracy standards). Using this allowed us to (do more of x, go more in depth, provide content on more platforms, etc).

For more guidance on AI use disclosures, check out our AI Trust Kit.

At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. Learn more about our work, vision and team. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn.