Yes, with a statement. The Senate Procedure for Thesis Formats and Content, effective June 5, 2026, requires a statement in every thesis on the use or non-use of generative AI, including theses where no AI was used. It sets no separate approval step. The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) adds that the use of generative AI in research should be discussed with your supervisor and supervisory committee.
If your AI statement clearly doesn't cover what you describe elsewhere in your thesis, Esmond points it out.
Section 4.7 of the procedure is titled "Statement on the use/non-use of Generative Artificial Intelligence". Its first requirement: “This section must include a high-level overview of the use or non-use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in the thesis.” The next sentence: “Non-use of AI should be stated explicitly.”
So a thesis without any AI still has this section, and it says so. SGPS repeats the point on its own guidance page, where it describes the statement as required for all theses. The procedure lists the statement under section 4, Contents, as item 4.7, after the acknowledgments section (4.6) and before the table of contents (4.8).
A hypothetical example of a commentYour GenAI statement says a tool was used only to check grammar, but chapter four describes an AI tool that summarized forty policy documents for your analysis. Does the statement give an accurate overview?
A first comment on one part of your own draft, right away and without an account.
Get a free previewOne detail to check. The front-matter list in section 1.4 of the same procedure runs from the title page through the acknowledgments to the table of contents, and doesn't name the GenAI statement. The numbering in section 4 suggests the statement goes between those two. Check with your graduate program or SGPS where it should appear in your format, for a monograph as well as an integrated-article or diverse-format thesis.
The statement is only the summary. Section 4.7 goes on: “any use of GenAI in the generation, interpretation, or presentation of research content or knowledge must be appropriately documented or acknowledged throughout the thesis in accordance with disciplinary standards.” The procedure also says the use of GenAI must not undermine the integrity of the research and the thesis, including the originality of your work.
| Where | What section 4.7 asks | Our suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| The GenAI statement (section 4.7) | A high-level overview of use or non-use; non-use stated explicitly | Keep it short and make sure it matches the chapters |
| The chapters where AI played a role | Use in generating, interpreting, or presenting research content or knowledge documented or acknowledged | Describe it where it happened, for example in the methods |
| Disciplinary standards | Decide how that documentation looks | Ask your supervisor which conventions your field follows |
The Senate procedure sets no approval step for AI use. The SGPS guidance page puts the people in the loop: “For research, scholarship, and creative activities, the use of generative AI should be discussed with the supervisor(s) and supervisory committee.” It adds that any plan for AI use must follow Western's principles of use and be reviewed as necessary.
Where you are uncertain, SGPS points you to your supervisor, your supervisory committee, or the graduate program chair. For course work, the syllabus decides, and the course instructor answers questions. Our suggestion: have the conversation before you use a tool on thesis material, and keep a note of what you agreed, because the statement you hand in later should match it.
SGPS reminds graduate researchers that AI use in research falls under the same policies as research without AI, including the policies on responsible conduct of research. If your research is funded, the funder's rules on AI use and disclosure apply too, and SGPS says the same for scholarship and award applications. When you publish or present, the publisher's or event organizer's disclosure rules apply.
This example is made up. A master's student in geography finishes a monograph thesis without using any AI tools and leaves the GenAI section out, because there is nothing to report. Under section 4.7 that doesn't work: non-use should be stated explicitly, so the section stays in with one or two sentences saying no generative AI was used. If she had used a generative AI tool to clean her GPS data, the statement would give the overview, and her methods chapter would likely describe the use the way her field expects. She would check that with her supervisor.
Points from section 4.7 and the SGPS page. The last item is our suggestion.
Esmond evaluates every assignment before you submit. It never writes it.
Esmond is an AI tool that doesn't write for you. If your course doesn't allow any AI tools, don't use Esmond for that work. If you're unsure, ask your instructor or advisor.
Neither the procedure nor the SGPS page names feedback tools. If you use an AI tool to comment on your draft, the safe reading is that it belongs in your GenAI statement. SGPS says the use of generative AI in research should be discussed with your supervisor(s) and supervisory committee. Our suggestion: do that before you upload a draft. Check with your graduate program chair if you are unsure. Western University has not reviewed or approved Esmond.
Esmond reads the draft you made and flags factual errors, inconsistencies, and blind spots. It adds no text to the thesis. Describe the use in your statement the way your program expects. See how Esmond works and the sample report before you raise it with your supervisor.
Yes. Section 4.7 of the Procedure for Thesis Formats and Content requires a high-level overview of the use or non-use of GenAI, and says non-use should be stated explicitly.
The Senate procedure sets no approval step. The SGPS guidance says AI use in research should be discussed with your supervisor and supervisory committee, and any plan for AI use must follow Western's principles of use and be reviewed as necessary. Check with your graduate program what that review looks like.
The procedure lists it as item 4.7, between the acknowledgments section (4.6) and the table of contents (4.8). The front-matter list in section 1.4 doesn't name it, so check placement with your program or SGPS.
Not if you used GenAI. Any use of GenAI in the generation, interpretation, or presentation of research content or knowledge must also be documented or acknowledged throughout the thesis, following the standards of your discipline.
Read on November 7, 2026.
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