What should I look out for with AI in research & science?

Never use AI as a source: every reference must be traceable to the original article, as fabricated or wrongly attributed citations are the most common error. Unpublished data, research proposals and peer-review manuscripts are confidential or commercially sensitive, so do not enter them into a consumer account without a data processing agreement, and check whether the provider stores your input or uses it for training (publishers usually prohibit this explicitly for peer review). If you work with personal data from research participants, the GDPR and your own ethics review apply: running models locally or using an EU-hosted tool with data minimisation is then the safe route. Finally, document your search strategy and your AI use: journals and funders increasingly ask for this, and a review must remain reproducible.

Home / Safety / Covidence for research & science

Veritas Health Innovation Ltd (Melbourne, Australia)

How safe is Covidence for research & science?

GDPR profile for research & scienceLimited

Covidence publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential research & science data into it.

Where does Covidence stand in research & science?

Shared spot 12 of 30 options for research & science (professional tools and general assistants) on the GDPR profile. 8 options, like Covidence's profile, have Limited ratings. Each tile is an option we track for this field; click for the check.

Strong5

Good6

Limited8

Unknown4

Caution7

Published safeguards

–Provider based in NL/EUNot known

–Data in the EU (according to provider)Not known

✓Publishes certification (ISO/NEN/GDPR)Yes

The identity of the LLM provider used is not public; Covidence states that the LLMs it uses do not store, distribute or use uploaded full-text PDFs for training. The organisation calls itself the GDPR controller, but data may be stored outside the EU.

How to use Covidence safely

Use the business variant and sign a data processing agreement (DPA).
Do not enter unnecessary personal data into prompts; anonymise where possible.
Ask the provider explicitly where data is stored and processed.
Keep a professional in the loop: never use AI as a source: every reference must be traceable to the original article, as invented or misattributed citations are the most common error.

Stronger or equally strong in research & science

CradleCradle (Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Zürich, Switzerland)

ASReview LABUniversiteit Utrecht (the Netherlands)

KeeniousKeenious (Norway)

ScholarcyEverway Opco Limited / Scholarcy (Antrim, United Kingdom)

SciSpacePubGenius Inc. (Milpitas, United States)

Questions

How safe is Covidence for research & science?: Covidence publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential research & science data into it. Limited or partly unclear safeguards, ask the provider.
Does Covidence train on my data?: The identity of the LLM provider used is not public; Covidence states that the LLMs it uses do not store, distribute or use uploaded full-text PDFs for training. The organisation calls itself the GDPR controller, but data may be stored outside the EU.
What should I look out for with AI in research & science?: Never use AI as a source: every reference must be traceable to the original article, as fabricated or wrongly attributed citations are the most common error. Unpublished data, research proposals and peer-review manuscripts are confidential or commercially sensitive, so do not enter them into a consumer account without a data processing agreement, and check whether the provider stores your input or uses it for training (publishers usually prohibit this explicitly for peer review). If you work with personal data from research participants, the GDPR and your own ethics review apply: running models locally or using an EU-hosted tool with data minimisation is then the safe route. Finally, document your search strategy and your AI use: journals and funders increasingly ask for this, and a review must remain reproducible.

Source documents

www.covidence.org support.covidence.org www.covidence.org

Everything about Covidence Best AI for research & science

Summarised by the editorial team from provider documentation · not legal advice

Last checked: 15 October 2026 · How we check

Next stepAll 30 options for research & scienceProfessional tools and general assistants side by side, on GDPR profile, price and quality.

Every Friday: what changed in AI for research & science

New models, prices, oversight and tools, with sources and what it means for you. One email a week, unsubscribe with one click.

View a sample

Your fieldEmail address

We only use your address for this newsletter. You confirm first by email.