How do program chairs assign reviewers to submissions?

Paige Watson

Updated on 10 March 2026

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Assigning reviewers ensures that each submission is evaluated by experts in the relevant research field. In PeerSubmit, program chairs and organizers can assign reviewers manually or use AI-powered recommendations to match submissions with suitable reviewers.

Reviewer assignments can be managed directly from the Submissions section of your conference dashboard.

Open the Submissions List

To begin assigning reviewers:

• Open your conference dashboard.
• Navigate to Review & Decisions.
• Click Submissions.

This page displays all submitted papers along with their submission ID, title, track, and review status.

Open a Submission

To assign reviewers to a specific paper:

• Click the submission title or ID.
• Open the submission details page.

The submission page provides full details including manuscript title, abstract, keywords, track, and author information.

Assign Reviewers

To assign reviewers to the submission:

• Click the Manage Reviewer button.
• The Assign Reviewer window will open.
• Select reviewers from the available reviewer list.
• Confirm the selection.

You can assign one or multiple reviewers depending on your conference review policy.

Use AI-Recommended Reviewers

PeerSubmit can recommend reviewers automatically based on submission keywords and reviewer expertise.

• Open the AI Recommended tab.
• Review suggested reviewers.
• Select the reviewers you want to assign.

AI recommendations help organizers quickly identify reviewers who specialize in the submission topic.

Track Review Progress

After assigning reviewers, you can monitor review progress from the Review Pipeline.

• Go to Review & Decisions.
• Click Review Pipeline.
• Track submissions that are pending, under review, or completed.

This visual pipeline helps organizers monitor reviewer progress and identify submissions that still need evaluation.

Best Practices for Reviewer Assignment

Careful reviewer assignment ensures a fair and high-quality peer review process.

• Assign reviewers with expertise matching the submission topic.
• Avoid conflicts of interest between authors and reviewers.
• Assign at least two reviewers for each submission.
• Monitor review progress to ensure timely evaluations.

Well-managed reviewer assignments help maintain fairness, transparency, and academic rigor in the conference review process.