Editorial & AI Policy

What AI writes

One thing: the progressive hints on today's Wordle answer page. They are generated from the confirmed answer each morning and checked automatically before they appear.

What AI does not write

Everything else on this site. In particular:

• The answers themselves. Wordle answers are retrieved from the New York Times' own public data and validated against it. No model is involved in deciding what the answer is, and a mismatch stops publication rather than guessing.
• Strategy guides, word lists, and site copy. Written by a person and reviewed in version control.
• Puzzle content in our own games. Generated from the dictionary by deterministic code, not by a model.

How hints are checked

Hints are meant to narrow the field without handing over the word, so every set passes two checks before it is stored:

• A second, independent pass identifies the earliest hint at which the word becomes guessable. The ladder is cut there — anything further would only confirm what a reader already had. A set that gives the word away in the first two hints is discarded entirely.
• A mechanical check confirms no hint contains the answer, any inflection of it, or any reference to its spelling — no letters, positions, letter counts, or rhymes. Hints describe meaning and usage only.

If either check fails, no hints are published that day. The answer page still appears on schedule, without a hint ladder.

What this does and does not guarantee

These checks run automatically. Nobody reads each day's hints before they go live, so a hint that is unhelpful, awkward, or occasionally wrong can reach the page. We monitor the output and correct problems as we find them — but we would rather say so plainly than imply an editorial review that does not happen.

Reporting a problem

If a hint gives the answer away, states something untrue, or reads badly, tell us and we will fix or remove it. Reader reports are a real part of how this stays accurate.

If this changes

Any future use of AI on this site will be listed here before it ships, with the same detail about what is checked and what isn't. See also our privacy policy and terms of service.