Wikipedia has officially banned the use of artificial intelligence tools to create or rewrite content on its platform. The 25-year-old open-source encyclopedia, which allows anyone to contribute knowledge based on reliable and verifiable sources, has updated its editing policy to draw a clear line against AI-generated content. The policy specifically references tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini as examples of what editors cannot use to produce or rewrite articles.
It is unclear when exactly the policy came into effect, and a Wikipedia representative did not respond to a request for comment.
What Are The Exceptions Wikipedia Has Made For AI Use?
While the ban is broad, Wikipedia does allow a few limited exceptions. Editors can use AI for basic tasks like fixing typos and formatting, but only for articles they have written themselves, and only after a Wikipedia volunteer reviewer or administrator has reviewed the content.
Even then, Wikipedia urges caution, noting that AI can unintentionally change the meaning of content in ways that may not be accurate or may not reflect the original source’s intent.
AI can also be used to translate articles from other language versions of Wikipedia into English.
However, the translation still needs to follow Wikipedia’s existing policies, and the person doing the translation must be fluent in both English and the source language to ensure accuracy.
How Will Wikipedia Enforce Its New AI Policy?
That part remains unclear. The policy makes no mention of how violations will be identified or what consequences editors might face if they use AI in ways that break the rules.
Wikipedia’s stance reflects a wider concern about AI across the internet. “Text generated by large language models (LLMs) often violates several of Wikipedia’s core content policies,” the platform’s editing policy reads.
Separately, the Wikimedia Foundation had previously asked AI companies to stop scraping Wikipedia data and instead use its Enterprise API to access content in a way that does not overload its servers or conflict with its nonprofit mission.
