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Study Finds AI-Generated Books Flood Amazon Self-Publishing Market

7/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Professor Tuhin Chakrabarty led a study that used AI-detection software on thousands of Amazon self-published novels, finding many contained chatbot-generated prose.
Jess Michaels, author of 117 novels and ten USA Today best-seller titles, says AI-generated books make discoverability very difficult.
Michaels called AI-written books “soul-crushing,” likening them to piracy that erases real authors.
Chakrabarty said readers cannot tell when genre fiction is produced by AI.

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Story summary

Professor Tuhin Chakrabarty led a study that used AI-detection software on thousands of Amazon self-published novels, finding many contained chatbot-generated prose.
Jess Michaels, author of 117 novels and ten USA Today best-seller titles, says AI-generated books make discoverability very difficult.
Michaels called AI-written books “soul-crushing,” likening them to piracy that erases real authors.
Chakrabarty said readers cannot tell when genre fiction is produced by AI.