Chapter III · Guide
KDP AI Content Disclosure Rules: AI-Generated vs AI-Assisted
KDP's own wording on AI-generated and AI-assisted content: what you must disclose, what you need not, and what the page leaves unsaid. Read Nov 8, 2026.
3 primary sources, each with its read date
Compare your optionsAI and Copyright for Authors: What the US Copyright Office Has SaidKDP requires you to tell it about AI-generated content when you publish a new book or republish an edited one, and it counts text, images and translations created by an AI tool as AI-generated even if you edited them heavily afterwards. It does not require you to disclose AI-assisted content. We read KDP's content guidelines page on November 8, 2026. The page shows no revision date, so the read date is the date this summary is good for. This is general information, not legal advice.
How this page was researched
Written from the published pages cited below, each with the date it was read.
What KDP's page says
The rule is short, and the wording matters. As read on November 8, 2026:
- The requirement. "We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP."
- AI-generated. "We define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool." The page continues: "If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content (whether text, images, or translations), it is considered 'AI-generated,' even if you applied substantial edits afterwards."
- AI-assisted, when you created the work. "If you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content (whether text or images), then it is considered 'AI-assisted' and not 'AI-generated.'"
- AI-assisted, when you brainstormed. "Similarly, if you used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text or images yourself, this is also considered 'AI-assisted' and not 'AI-generated.'"
- No duty for assisted work. "You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content." The page adds that it is not necessary to inform KDP of such tools or processes.
- Images. "AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork."
- Your responsibility either way. "You are responsible for verifying that all AI-generated and/or AI-assisted content adheres to all content guidelines, including by complying with all applicable intellectual property rights."
This is a platform rule, not copyright law
KDP's disclosure is a condition of publishing on KDP. It is separate from whether a work can be copyrighted, which is a legal question covered in AI and copyright for authors. Satisfying one tells you nothing about the other. The two can even point in different directions: heavy human rewriting of an AI draft may add protectable authorship, but under KDP's wording the draft is still AI-generated.
A decision table
The table applies KDP's two definitions to common situations. It is our reading of the page, not a statement from Amazon, and edge cases are yours to check with KDP.
| What you did | KDP category on the page's wording | Disclose? |
|---|---|---|
| Wrote the text yourself, used AI to fix grammar or tighten sentences | AI-assisted | Not required |
| Wrote the text, then asked AI to rewrite a chapter and kept the result | Text an AI tool created counts as AI-generated; the page also lists "edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve" as assisted, and does not say where a full rewrite falls | Unclear on the page; ask KDP |
| Had AI draft passages, then heavily edited them | AI-generated; edits do not change this | Yes |
| Used AI to brainstorm ideas, wrote every word yourself | AI-assisted; the page names brainstorming and idea generation explicitly | Not required |
| Used an AI image tool for the cover or interior art | AI-generated image | Yes |
| Had AI translate your book | AI-generated translation | Yes |
| Hired a human translator who used AI | Not stated on the page | Ask KDP |
| Added AI-narrated audio | The AI section does not mention audio | Not stated. See below |
Worked scenarios
These authors and books are invented. Each one is decided by the words above, and where those words run out, we say so.
Scenario 1: seven AI epigraphs in an otherwise human novel. An author writes 90,000 words and has a chatbot compose a short verse for each of seven part openings. The verses are "text ... created by an AI-based tool". The page sets no minimum length. On the wording, the book has AI-generated text and the author discloses, even though the verses are a tiny share of it.
Scenario 2: the draft that was rewritten line by line. An author has a tool draft chapter 12, then rewrites nearly every sentence with the draft open beside them. The author "used an AI-based tool to create the actual content", and "substantial edits afterwards" do not change the category. AI-generated, disclose.
Scenario 3: the draft that was thrown away. An author reads an AI draft of chapter 12, decides it is wrong, deletes it, and writes the chapter from a blank page using one plot idea from it. The final text was not created by the tool. The closest wording is "brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text ... yourself", which points to AI-assisted. The page does not address a discarded draft directly. Keep a dated note saying what happened.
Scenario 4: "make this paragraph tighter." An author pastes in their own paragraph, asks for a tighter version, and keeps it. If the result is recognizably the author's paragraph with words removed, that is "edit, refine ... or otherwise improve", so AI-assisted. If most of the words are new, the tool has arguably created the content. The page gives no test for where one becomes the other, so a heavy rewrite is a question for KDP.
Scenario 5: the painted cover with a generated castle. An illustrator-author paints a cover and uses a generative tool to add a castle in the background. Cleaning up the painting would be improving "text or images" you created. A castle the tool drew is an image element the tool created. The page does not address part-generated images. The conservative reading is to disclose the image.
Scenario 6: an AI stock image. An author licenses a stock image labelled as AI-generated. The first sentence of the definition turns on what created the content; the second speaks of "you used". The page does not address images you bought. Treating it as AI-generated follows the first sentence.
Scenario 7: an old book with a new cover. A title published years ago, with no AI in it, gets a new AI-generated cover and is republished. The requirement applies when you "make edits to and republish an existing book", so the new cover is disclosed at that point. The page says nothing about a book that stays on sale unchanged.
Scenario 8: AI-translated, then corrected by a human. An author machine-translates a novel into Spanish and pays a human editor to correct it. The translation was created by a tool and later edits do not change that. Note that the AI-assisted definition mentions "text or images" and not translations, so the page offers no assisted route that is explicitly about translation.
Scenario 9: AI wrote the notes, the author wrote the book. A chatbot produces a character list and a world history that the author keeps as private reference, and no sentence of it reaches the manuscript. That looks like brainstorming, and the requirement concerns content you publish. The page does not mention planning documents as such. If any of that text ends up in the book, it is AI-generated.
How KDP says it enforces its guidelines
The page has a general statement that covers all its content guidelines, not the AI section alone. KDP says it enforces them "using a combination of machine learning, automation, and dedicated teams of human reviewers", that it will reject or remove content that does not comply, and that it may request additional information about a book. If it removes a title it tells you, and you can appeal. The page does not say what happens for a missed AI disclosure specifically, and we have no primary source on how that is detected or handled.
What the page leaves unsaid
Several gaps matter for authors.
Where and how you disclose. The guidelines page does not describe the form. Two KDP help pages on the publishing flow, Upload and Preview Book Content and Title Setup, showed nothing about AI in the text we read. One trade guide, whose address carries the date May 27, 2026, describes a Content-tab section with a yes-or-no question, separate entries for text, images and translations, and a separate pass for each format. We have not seen the form ourselves, and that is a third party's description. Check it when you publish.
Whether readers see it. The page does not say whether your answer appears anywhere public. One third-party guide says it found nothing indicating that readers see your answers. That is an absence of evidence, and we could not confirm it from an Amazon page.
Audio and narration. The AI section names text, images and translations. It does not name audio or narration, and the page is silent on whether a virtual-voice audiobook falls under it. KDP's audiobook rules are separate; see Audible Virtual Voice and ACX. For other stores, see which retailers accept AI narration.
Product descriptions and metadata. The AI-disclosure paragraph names text, images and translations and does not mention descriptions or keywords. A separate section of the same page says the content guidelines apply to book content "including title, cover art, and product description", but it does not say how the AI-disclosure duty applies to listing text. Ask KDP before relying on a reading either way.
Title limits. The page is silent on a daily limit on new titles. A search-result snippet of an NPR report dated March 13, 2024, which we could not open, mentions a limit of three books a day. KDP's page does not state one, so treat it as unconfirmed.
How to use this in practice
Write down, per book, which parts were produced by an AI tool. If any text, image or translation was, disclose it when you publish or republish. If AI only edited, refined or helped you brainstorm and you created the content yourself, KDP says no disclosure is required. When a case is truly unclear, write to KDP, keep the reply with your book files, and note the date, since the page has no revision history you can point to.
For cover art, read AI cover art for authors. For a record-keeping sheet and a workflow, see using AI without losing your voice. Other policy topics are on the AI policy and law hub.
Last verified 2026-11-08. Rules and prices change: check the linked primary page before you rely on this.