The Society of Indexers promotes quality indexes and improved standards and techniques of all forms of indexing. As part of our commitment to improving indexes, we and our international colleagues have undertaken research into indexing using AI tools based on large language models (LLMs).
This research indicates that these tools do not produce adequate book indexes. Their indexes have significant limitations in terms of completeness of information, accessibility and navigability, and accuracy. Since such indexes require considerable review and correction by a human indexer, there are no substantial productivity or cost gains to be achieved by using them.
For these reasons, we do not recommend the use of LLM-based AI tools for the indexing of books, or the use of indexes prepared in this way in books.
To meet recognised standards for indexing and the needs of readers, the judgement and expertise of a professional book indexer is still necessary. Our Professional Directory will help you find the right indexer for your project.
For more information on AI and indexing, see our blog post or the American Society for Indexing’s AI page.
Illustration Andrzej Olas/Svensk biblioteksförening, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
