In 2023 with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), Amazon put a publishing limit on three books per day per author (The Guardian). Without seeing a spike in publications at the time, they could clearly foresee the problems that were going to arise for the publishing industry.
We are now seeing a rise in AI imitations of published books appearing on Amazon, using the same titles and ideas from the original authors, often summarised to a short length (Wired). Publishing summaries of books and passing them off as the real thing has been a problem since 2019 (Wall Street Journal), but the power of LLMs has seen their appearance increase dramatically.
These books breach Amazon’s terms of AI use and are not allowed to be published and sold on the platform. However, Amazon only removes content reactively after it has already gone live on the platform. This means they can be distributed and sold before someone eventually flags the issue and has it removed.
Legally, it seems to be in a confusing space. Some copyright lawyers believe these summaries may be legal if they avoid word-for-word plagiarism, while others argue that summaries without analysis or new information added would be hard to defend from an IP standpoint.
This leaves the digital publishing world in a very confusing and problematic place, with writers and publishing experts concerned this trend will continue to grow, undermining original authors and becoming a lasting problem for the industry.
Update, November 2026: AI-written and copycat books have become a bigger problem for readers, authors and publishers. Here’s how to spot them, and what it means for the industry.
How to spot an AI-written or copycat book
- Look at the reviews. These are the biggest sign if they mention poor quality or say the book isn’t what it claims to be.
- The preview reads generically. Things to look out for are language that is easy to understand but vague, repetitive, with little specific detail or odd factual slips.
- The author has no history, or has published a large number of books in a short time.
- The title closely copies a bestseller, with something along the lines of “Summary of”, “Workbook” or “Analysis of” added.
- Check a sample: paste a page from the preview into an AI text detector.
What it means for authors and publishers
Copycat books take sales from original authors and can damage their reputation when readers confuse the two. In 2023, author Jane Friedman found books she hadn’t written listed under her name on Amazon, and they were removed only after she raised it publicly. Some AI-written books have also given dangerous advice: the same year, AI-generated guides to foraging for mushrooms were found on sale. Publishers and literary agents are facing a growing problem that is related, as more submissions and manuscripts arrive partly (or wholly) written by AI.
How AI Aware helps
AI Aware shows which parts of a text are written by AI, paragraph by paragraph. Readers and authors can check a sample page in seconds, and publishers can check submissions and manuscripts before they invest in them. See how AI Aware works for publishers.
Is this book AI-written?
Check a sample of any book or article with our AI text detector.
You can also check images, voice recordings and videos.