At DailyCity.co.uk, we embrace digital tools to enhance the depth, accuracy and efficiency of our journalism. Our AI and automation policy sets clear boundaries: technology supports our work, but human judgment remains at the heart of every piece we publish. This page explains how we use these tools, where we draw the line, and what you can expect from us.
How we use digital tools
We deploy a range of digital and AI-assisted tools to help our team produce thorough, timely and accessible journalism. These tools support the following tasks:
- Research and data analysis – automated scraping of public datasets, local council records and transport timetables to identify patterns and story leads.
- Editing and formatting – grammar and style checks, readability scoring, and consistent formatting across articles.
- Translation – machine translation for source material in languages other than English, always reviewed by a human fluent in the original language before use.
- Metadata and SEO – generation of descriptive metadata, alt text for images, and structured data markup to improve discoverability without compromising editorial integrity.
- Headline options – automated suggestions for alternative headlines, tested for clarity and accuracy by our managing editor.
- Summaries – brief article summaries for newsletters, social media or article previews, checked against the full text.
- Transcription – speech-to-text for interviews, public hearings and press conferences, with human correction of errors or ambiguous phrasing.
- Content review – automated checks for potential factual inconsistencies, missing attributions or duplicate text, flagged for human investigation.
All tools are selected with data privacy and editorial independence in mind. We never feed proprietary content into unsecured third-party models, and we retain full control over our workflows.
The human guarantee
Every piece of editorial content published on DailyCity.co.uk is reviewed by a human editor before it goes live. That includes news briefs, explainers, city guides, public-interest reporting, reviews and analysis. AI-assisted drafts are treated as raw material, not final copy. Our editors verify facts, check sources, assess tone and ensure the piece meets our editorial standards as set out in our Editorial Policy.
No automated system makes publishing decisions. No bot writes a byline. Every article carries the name of a human journalist who stands behind the work.
Strict prohibitions
We impose clear red lines on the use of AI and automation:
- No fabrication. AI must never generate quotes, sources, interviews, bylines, author experience or expert profiles. Any claim or quotation that originates from an AI tool must be independently verified by a human reporter using primary sources.
- No false staff or credentials. We do not create or publish content under fake bylines, automated personas or synthetic expert profiles. All bylines correspond to real people on our team – see Our Team for details.
- No unverified AI-assisted claims. If a digital tool suggests a fact, statistic or attribution, it must be traced to a reliable original source before inclusion. Editors follow our Fact-Checking Policy for all claims.
- AI-generated images, audio or video must be labelled. Where synthetic media is used – for example, an illustrative diagram or a reconstructed scene – we clearly identify it as AI-generated or AI-assisted to avoid misleading readers. We disclose the extent of automation in the caption or metadata.
- No mass-produced low-value content. We do not use AI to churn out large volumes of shallow articles designed to manipulate search rankings, drive ad revenue or inflate page views. Every story earns its place through editorial merit, not algorithmic quantity.
Disclosure in practice
Where digital tools have played a substantive role in production, we add a disclosure line at the end of the article. For example:
“This article was prepared with the support of digital editing tools and reviewed by a human editor before publication.”
This disclosure appears on articles that used AI for transcription, headline generation or initial draft structuring, but never as a substitute for original reporting. We are transparent about our process because we want you to trust what you read.
Related policies
This AI and Automation Policy sits alongside our broader commitments. For more detail on how we operate, please refer to:
- Editorial Policy – our standards for accuracy, fairness and independence.
- Fact-Checking Policy – how we verify claims and correct errors.
- Our Team – meet the journalists behind the bylines.
- Contact – get in touch with questions or concerns.
We will review this policy regularly as technology evolves. Any changes will be noted here and communicated to our readers. If you have feedback or want to know more about how we use digital tools in specific stories, email our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead Thomas Ellery at thomas.ellery@dailycity.co.uk.