Template · Getting real work done
AI use disclosure template
Some clients, employers, and publishers require you to say when AI helped produce work. Others do not require it but will ask. In both cases, the hard part is the sentence itself. People who have no sentence ready tend to understate what happened.
This template produces a short statement of three to five sentences. It says what AI did, what you did, how the work was checked, and who answers for it. Fill it in once for a typical piece of work, then adjust it for each delivery.
When to use it
- A contract, client policy, or publication requires disclosure of AI use.
- A client or reader has asked how a piece of work was made.
- You want a standard disclosure sentence ready before anyone asks.
The template
The work
Which deliverable does this statement cover?
What AI did
Which parts did AI draft, summarize, or produce?
What you did
Which parts are your own judgment and writing?
How it was checked
How were the facts and figures verified?
Data handling
Where did any confidential material go?
Accountability
Who answers for the work?
A filled example
A freelance content strategist delivers a research-based industry report to a client whose contract requires disclosure of AI use.
- The work
- The industry outlook report delivered on April 3.
- What AI did
- AI summarized the forty source interviews and produced a first draft of sections two and three.
- What you did
- I chose the sources, wrote the recommendations and the executive summary, and rewrote sections two and three.
- How it was checked
- Every quotation was checked against the interview transcript. Every figure was traced to a source listed in the appendix.
- Data handling
- Interview transcripts were processed only in the client-approved AI workspace and were not used in any other tool.
- Accountability
- I am responsible for the content of the report, including the parts AI drafted.
What each field is for
The work
Skill: Getting real work done
A statement tied to one deliverable is specific. A general statement about “using AI tools” tells the reader nothing about this work.
What AI did
Skill: Getting real work done
Naming the tasks AI did is the substance of disclosure. Vague wording here is what makes a disclosure misleading.
What you did
Skill: Getting real work done
This field shows where the judgment came from. It is also a check on yourself: if it is short, the work may not be finished.
How it was checked
Skill: Checking the work
Readers who learn AI was involved want to know whether the facts hold. A specific checking method answers that.
Data handling
Skill: Keeping it safe
Clients care where their material went. Stating it shows you followed the data rules, or shows you that you need to check before you send.
Accountability
Skill: Getting real work done
AI assistance does not move responsibility. Saying so plainly is the point of the statement.
Common mistakes
Understating what AI did
“Minor AI assistance” for a report AI drafted is a misleading statement. If you would not want the client to see your working files, the disclosure is too vague.
Apologizing for the method
Disclosure is a factual statement, not a confession. State what happened and how the work was checked, and stop there.
Treating disclosure as optional when it is required
Where a contract requires disclosure, a well-written report without it can still breach the contract. The quality of the work does not change that.