[ANNOUNCEMENT] Updates to the AI usage policy
Kat Cosgrove
Kubernetes Contributors,
We have recently published an update to the project’s policy on the use of AI tools. We want to make sure contributors are aware of this change, and also explain why these changes were necessary.
The AI use policy is as follows:
Using AI tools to help write your PR is acceptable, but as the author, you are responsible for understanding every change. If you used AI tools in preparing your PR, you must disclose this in the description of your PR. Listing AI tooling as a co-author, co-signing commits using an AI tool, or using the `assisted-by`, `co-developed` or similar commit trailer is not allowed.
All contributions must follow the contributions policies and use commit messages that align with the policy. Large AI-generated PRs and AI-generated commit messages are not allowed.
Do not leave the first review of AI generated changes to the reviewers. Verify the changes (code review, testing, etc.) before submitting your PR. Reviewers may ask questions about your AI-assisted code, and if you cannot explain why a change was made, the PR will be closed.
When responding to review comments, you must do so without relying on AI tools. Reviewers want to engage directly with you, not with generated responses. If you do not engage directly with reviewers, the PR will be closed.
The up-to-date version of the policy is available at https://www.kubernetes.dev/docs/guide/pull-requests/#ai-guidance.
We understand that some companies now require the use of an AI coding assistant and mandate disclosure in certain ways. We don’t object to the use of AI, but we do require that you disclose its use specifically in the PR description.
Kubernetes cannot and will not allow co-authoring PRs or co-signing commits with AI for the simple reason that the AI cannot sign a CLA; this is a legal requirement. For this reason, we cannot allow disclosure via co-authoring or co-signing. Previously, EasyCLA has not run CLA checks against co-authors. That functionality has now been enabled for Kubernetes repositories.
Use of `assisted-by` or `co-developed` commit trailers was suggested as a way to disclose AI use and keep it in the git metadata, but it introduces another problem: the ability for third parties to use the Kubernetes project for marketing (more than they already do). While we trust that most companies will behave, many will not, and allowing this runs the risk of any company who gets a PR merged using the `assisted-by` trailer or similar publicly advertising that the Kubernetes project uses and endorses their paid tool. This trend has already been observed within the project. It is a necessary first step to ensure project standards for code quality and community are met. This policy will evolve over time, as new tools and strategies are made available to us.
Thanks,
Kubernetes Steering Committee
Brendan Burns
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2026 10:06 AM
To: dev <d...@kubernetes.io>
Cc: stee...@kubermetes.io <stee...@kubermetes.io>; le...@kubernetes.io <le...@kubernetes.io>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ANNOUNCEMENT] Updates to the AI usage policy
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Benjamin Elder
1. Generally, the CNCF is responsible for the CLA policy, including implementing, configuring, and running the service.
2. *All* co-authors, including humans, now have the CLA check enforced. No Copilot-specific changes have been made. Failing to check co-authors was a misconfiguration.
3. The CNCF has told us that they need the copyright assignment / CLA to refer back to a human for legal purposes.
4. I **presume** since Dependabot updates are entirely mechanical with no alternate way to implement them (i.e., no creative work) they've been deemed acceptable. This seems distinct from other types of changes.
- Ben