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Table of Contents

Working With AI

Learn about YouVersion's approach to using AI when it comes to Bible Plans.

Jillian Galley
Updated by Jillian Galley
Table of Contents

Our Approach to AI

  1. God's Word is sacred. It speaks to people in every culture, and it’s meant to be met with real thought, real prayer, and real discernment. AI can process information, but it hasn’t walked with God, hasn’t prayed, and doesn’t know from the inside what it means to live by faith. That’s human work, and it always will be.
  2. Teaching God's Word is a stewardship, never a shortcut. Your insight comes from a life lived: the seasons you’ve walked through, the time you’ve spent in prayer, the people you’re writing for. Knowledge can’t replace wisdom, and no tool can supply what only you can bring. Romans 12:6-8 (NLT) reminds us that God gives gifts so they’ll be used, and “if you are a teacher, teach well.” We steward this platform; you steward your teaching. AI can serve your craft, but it can’t stand in for your calling.
  3. AI and its role in ministry is something the global Church is still discerning together, and thoughtful believers land in different places. We hold this position with humility, knowing it may need to grow as the technology—and our understanding of it—continues to change. As a platform many people look to, our approach to this shapes how others think about it too, and we take that seriously.

Thoughtful Use of AI

People come to Scripture looking for truth they can stand on. If they start to wonder what’s real in the words, images, videos, or other media in front of them, we risk losing that trust, even when the content itself is good.

AI must never choose, interpret, or apply Scripture on your behalf. That’s true no matter how a prompt is worded or how much human editing comes after. Deciding which passages carry a theme, explaining what a passage means, and showing how it applies to someone’s life: that's discernment, and discernment belongs to you, not AI. AI tools can support content you’ve already created—correcting, tightening, or formatting it—but they should never do the thinking or writing for you.

✅ Best Practices

❌ Things To Avoid

Using AI to correct, tighten, or reorganize original devotional content written by humans, so long as it doesn’t change or add interpretive or theological meaning.

Don’t use AI to generate devotional content, even if it’s “based on” your own ideas. If AI is choosing, interpreting, or applying Scripture, that content won’t be permitted on our platforms.

Using AI to create illustrated artwork, icons, graphs, charts, or similar imagery to go with your original devotional content. This imagery should look intentional and well-crafted—never like a real photo or documentary image—and must always be disclosed as AI-generated in the caption.

Don’t generate Bible Plans in bulk just to grow your reach faster. Each Plan Day deserves your own hands-on editing, not a quick glance and approval.

Using instrumental AI-generated music (no lyrics) as background or accompanying audio, as long as it’s disclosed as AI-generated in the caption.

Don’t translate your content with AI unless a human meets the review standard described in the section on “Translating Your Content”.

Setting the exact, unaltered text of Scripture to AI-generated music. Cite the Bible version used, just as you would for any Scripture quotation, and disclose the music as AI-generated. You’re also responsible for any additional licenses necessary.

Don't use photo-realistic AI-generated images or videos that could be mistaken for a real photo or video — including historical or biblical figures. If it looks like a photograph, it doesn’t belong here.

Using AI to reformat original content, for example:

1. Adding headings, bullet points, or sections to long-form writing

2. Selecting excerpts from a book to use for a devotional

3. Converting a sermon transcript into Bible Plans, since the sermon is already your own thinking and heart for people, as long as you personally read through and edit each Plan Day, rather than approving it in bulk

Don't use AI to write original song lyrics that paraphrase, interpret, or apply Scripture, even if inspired by a specific passage — that’s the same interpretive work AI isn’t allowed to do anywhere else in your content.

Using AI to research supporting material — related verses, historical or cultural context, summaries of existing commentary — that a human then writes into their own devotional in their own words.

Using AI to brainstorm broad topic ideas or help with logistics like pacing and day count, as long as it isn't selecting, interpreting, or applying the Scripture, stories, or themes your content is built on.

How did we do?

Including Images, Audio, & Video

Translating Your Content