Epoch AI finds AI acknowledgments in math papers jumped to 25% in four months

Mathematicians have started saying the quiet part out loud. A growing share of them now openly credit AI in their research papers. On September 18, 2026, research group Epoch AI published an analysis of math preprints on arXiv. It found that the share of papers acknowledging AI use rose from 4% in April 2026 to 25% by August 2026. In some corners of the discipline, the shift is even sharper. More than half of papers in three math subfields now acknowledge using AI. Differential geometry posted the most striking jump, rising from about 8% to 57%. What Epoch actually counted The headline number covers any acknowledgment of AI. According to Epoch, 6% of the August preprints credited AI with a substantive contribution to the research. Epoch compares that level of involvement to the role a co-author would play. To sort these claims, Epoch built a multi-step pipeline. First, it filtered math papers on arXiv for AI-related keywords. Then it used the GPT-5.6 Sol model to categorize what kind of contribution the AI made, with Claude Fable 5 validating the results. Each paper landed in one of six categories. These include substantial research contributions and research assistance, among othe...