Using AI to apply for a grant or funding

We know that many people are considering using artificial intelligence (AI) to support them at work, and we are seeing this in the funding applications we receive.

Some people are using AI to research funding opportunities, while others are using AI to structure, proof or write parts of applications. Sometimes this helps people produce funding applications more quickly and easily.

We know that in some cases, using AI tools in this way can enable people and organisations to apply for funding where they would not have been able to do so – whether that’s because of capacity or expertise, or because it supports an access need.

Art Fund’s position on AI

For these reasons, Art Fund will not reject a funding application just because AI was used.

However, if you are choosing to use AI in the process of applying for funding, you should do so cautiously. We have a series of recommendations you should bear in mind if you’re using AI as part of your application.

As part of the application process, we may ask you if you have used AI. This information is not used to inform our decision on your proposal, but it will help us to review our application processes and consider how we can best support the sector. We might also ask for this information as part of our evaluation process.

AI usage considerations

Make sure your case is clear and coherent

Because of the content it’s been trained on, many AI tools produce written copy that can be bland, exaggerated or incorrect, often in the same paragraph. If you’re using AI to answer several questions within an application process, its tone can change from answer to answer. It may not consistently use the supporting information you’ve given it, and may choose to emphasise completely different parts of an application from answer to answer.

This can make applications difficult to understand for decision makers, and if your application is difficult to understand, it has a low chance of being successful.

If you’re using AI to generate answers, please fully re-read your application before submitting it to identify where these gaps, changes in tone, or inconsistencies may have emerged. You might ask a colleague to read the final application to help with this. Please ensure the proposal remains true to your project, organisation, ambitions and voice, as well as to the specific aims and priorities of the funding programme to which you are applying.

Watch out for hallucinations

When generating copy, generative AI tools are usually predicting what word comes next, like a powered-up version of autocomplete. They are trained on large amounts of data to make this prediction as accurate as possible, but this means that they’re working based on all of the information they have access to, and not just what you’ve given them.

Recently, some AI tools have undergone changes where they are more likely to try to tell you want you want to hear, instead of what is actually correct or accurate.

These issues can make them prone to something known as hallucinations, where an AI tool will effectively make something up. In this context, this could relate to a work of art, an exhibition, a museum or an artist that doesn’t exist. It may also blend real information with a hallucination, for example crediting an artist with a work that isn’t real, or telling you a real museum ran an exhibition that never happened.

Including inaccurate information in an application will have a dramatic impact on how likely it is to be successful.

Proofread your application

It’s important to proofread your application for spelling and grammatical errors, especially if you’ve used AI to write parts of it. Taking answers from an AI and using them in different parts of an application can create issues with grammar, sentence structure and can impact the overall flow of your application.

Be careful with your numbers

In our experience, AI tools are much less reliable for generating numerical information than they are for written content. Budgets and other data are important parts of an application, and inconsistencies in these will affect whether your application is successful. We strongly recommend that you do not use AI tools to generate your budget, and it should be avoided if you’re making numerical calculations or projections.

Check that your data is private

Most free-to-use AI tools will store whatever you put into them. They can then use that input to provide answers to other people. This could pose a privacy risk – especially if you’re uploading information that makes someone personally identifiable, or if you’re using confidential business information such as budgets, financial projections or plans that are not yet public.

Paid-for AI tools often (but not always) allow you to opt out of this data sharing.

We strongly advise that you don’t put any of this information into a free-to-use AI tool. If you’re unsure, please check with whoever is responsible for your organisation’s policies around data protection and GDPR.

Be mindful of sustainability

Writing a simple text prompt into a typical AI tool like ChatGPT is the equivalent of running a microwave for two seconds. A more complex prompt can be the equivalent of running a microwave for 8 seconds. Many single prompts develop into conversations, and this can all quickly add up. Using an AI tool instead of a normal search uses as much as 30 times more energy.

With this in mind, if you’re going to use AI as part of your application, we ask that you use AI consciously, where you think it can be of genuine help to your application, and not automatically or simply because it’s there.

To learn more about taking a low-carbon approach to using digital technologies, you can read Art Fund’s guidance: Tech ‘might’ save us: A low-carbon approach to your work online

You may want to consult with the person responsible for your organisation’s sustainability policy, or, if you have one,[LS1] the person responsible for your AI policy. If your organisation doesn’t have an AI policy, we are happy to share ours for you to use as a starting point.

Our process

This statement explains our current approach to applicants using AI tools. We will review and update our position as use of this technology changes and develops, and we will keep this page updated.

We’d like to acknowledge the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s AI guidance for funding applications, which has informed the development of this policy.