RSC partners with Enago for AI-powered manuscript screening

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has partnered with publishing solutions company Enago to deploy bespoke artificial intelligence (AI) technology for screening incoming journal submissions. The move is designed to streamline the manuscript submission process and enhance the author experience.

The collaboration will see Enago’s AI-powered manuscript screening technology, built on the company’s Enago Reports platform, integrated into RSC’s submission workflow. The system will check manuscripts against journal-specific requirements across RSC’s portfolio, providing authors with targeted guidance on compliance before submission.

“We are excited to partner with Enago to deliver this innovative pre-submission tool to support our authors with manuscript preparation and to speed up the submission process,” said Emma Wilson, Director of Publishing at RSC. “Investing in author tools such as this supports our goal to provide an enhanced and excellent author experience.”

The technology represents a shift towards automated pre-submission checking, addressing a common pain point in academic publishing where manuscripts are frequently rejected or delayed due to formatting and compliance issues rather than scientific content.

Abhigyan Arun, CEO of Enago said: “The RSC is one of the foremost publishers progressing high quality scientific research and it is a privilege to partner with them,” he said. “Providing authors with accurate actionable information on their manuscript is a step towards improving editorial and peer review efficacy.”

The system is designed to reduce the administrative burden on editorial teams while helping authors prepare submissions that meet specific journal requirements from the outset. This could potentially reduce submission-to-decision times and improve overall publishing efficiency.

The partnership also reflects a broader trend in academic publishing towards AI-assisted manuscript processing, as publishers seek to balance efficiency gains with maintaining rigorous peer review standards.