The past few years have been transformative ones for scholarly communications, and DataSeer is no exception. In 2024 we set out to make journal open science checks more sustainable, putting research integrity best-practice within research for more journals and researchers. Today, the revolution in reasoning LLMs blossomed into DataSeer SnapShot: a robust AI-powered editorial technology that performs sophisticated manuscript checks, triages manuscripts, and provides tailored author-ready revision instructions. SnapShot takes the burden of repetitive daily tasks off editors, freeing them for the challenging and creative work that demands their training and expertise.
From innovation to fruition
For DataSeer, 2024 was a year of inspiration and invention. DataSeer founder and CEO Tim Vines envisioned an AI-powered editorial support tool with the power to revolutionize routine manuscript checks and triage, making research integrity checks sustainable for journals. DataSeer SnapShot was born. By year-end, early adopters like Kriyadocs, Knowledge Works Global, and Taylor & Francis were already working closely with the DataSeer team to implement SnapShot in their own systems.
SnapShot works by scanning the full text of submitted manuscripts to establish what types of data the authors generated, whether there might be ethical constraints on making those datasets public, and whether any data are in public repositories or in the Supplemental Material. These results are compared to the journal’s expectations around data sharing (as stipulated in their Open Data policy) and a result of either ‘Pass Checks’ or ‘Action Required’ returned. SnapShot also summarises any actions the authors should take and drafts an appropriate email to the authors.
This year, 2025, has been characterized by rapid, iterative behind-the-scenes development and creative problem-solving. We refined the first version of the SnapShot LLM and implemented customized versions with publishers and publishing-platform providers like Aries Editorial Manager. That meant delving into ticklish technological questions such as navigating the myriad ways an article can meet (or fail to meet!) journal expectations around data sharing, or how Editorial Office staff can provide feedback to the LLM in real time. And the scholarly publishing community recognized the importance of the advance: SnapShot was shortlisted for the ALPSP innovation awards.
What’s ahead in 2026
In the coming year, 2026, we expect to focus on scale, bringing those promising beginnings to full fruition, and realizing the potential of AI for streamlining the editorial office screening process, empowering editors, and coaching authors to fulfill journal policy and embrace research integrity and reporting best-practice.
For example, early 2026 will see initial pilots of our figure checking workflow, which surfaces issues like missing or misnumbered figures, or inconsistencies between in-text descriptions of the figure and the actual caption. Get in touch to find out more!
We’re so grateful to our team, partners, and community for their support, and willingness to imagine a different, more sustainable approach to scholarly publishing. Thank you!
