Does Amazon KDP Allow AI-Generated Books? The Disclosure Rule, Explained

Does Amazon KDP allow AI-generated books? Yes, but you have to say so. KDP's Content Guidelines require publishers 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." Content you wrote yourself and only polished with an AI tool is "AI-assisted," and KDP says you do not need to disclose it. This explainer sets out where Amazon draws that line, what the setup screens ask, and the questions the guidelines leave open.

The rule, in Amazon's words

The AI section of the guidelines is short. KDP asks for disclosure of AI-generated text, images and translations, and it spells out that "AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork." It then adds one sentence that matters as much as the rule: "You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content."

Everything turns on which side of that line a book falls.

AI-generated, in KDP's definition, means "text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool." The guidelines add: "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 means "you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content." Using AI "to brainstorm and generate ideas" also counts as assisted, as long as "you ultimately created the text or images yourself." For assisted work, KDP says, "It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes."

Editing does not change the answer

The phrase authors most often miss is "even if you applied substantial edits afterwards." Under KDP's definition, the test is who produced the first version of the words or pictures, not how much work went into them later. A chapter drafted by a chatbot and rewritten line by line is still AI-generated text. A chapter you drafted and then ran through a grammar tool is AI-assisted.

The same logic applies to covers. A cover built around an image from an AI image generator is AI-generated art, even if a designer retouched it, added type and changed the colors. A cover made from a photograph or an illustrator's artwork is not, even if the designer used AI-based tools to clean up the file.

What the setup screens ask

The disclosure sits in KDP's publishing flow, not in a separate form. When The Publishing Times checked the setup screens in October 2026, the question appeared on each format's content page, so an ebook, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book are each answered. Answering yes opens separate choices for text, images and translations.

For text, the choices ran from "None" through some sections or the entire work, each with "minimal or no editing" or "extensive editing." Images used a similar scale based on how many images were AI-generated. KDP may reword these options at any time, and its help page does not reproduce them, so read the screen in front of you rather than a screenshot from someone's blog.

Those finer choices describe AI-generated content you have already declared. Picking "extensive editing" records that you revised the output. It does not turn the book into AI-assisted work.

Translations count too

Translations are named in the rule alongside text and images. That includes machine translation of your own book. Amazon's own translation service, Kindle Translate, is described by Amazon as "the AI-powered translation service in beta." KDP's help pages say the service is invite-only, that it supports translations between English and French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and that translations become available to publish only if they meet Amazon's "7-step quality assurance threshold." When KDP announced the beta, it said readers will see clear language labels for Kindle Translate titles.

You are still responsible for the content

Disclosure is not a permission slip. The guidelines say authors 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." The rest of the same page still applies to an AI-made book: no infringing content, no "descriptive content meant to mislead customers," and nothing on Amazon's list of content that is "typically disappointing to customers."

KDP also says it enforces the guidelines "using a combination of machine learning, automation, and dedicated teams of human reviewers," and that it "may also request additional information relating to your book before it's available for sale."

What the guidelines do not say

Several questions authors ask are not answered on KDP's page, and The Publishing Times could not find an Amazon statement that settles them:

• Whether readers see your answer. The guidelines describe disclosure to Amazon. They do not say the answers appear on the product page.
• Whether disclosure affects royalties, ranking or KDP Select. The page does not connect the AI answers to any of them.
• How Amazon checks. KDP describes its review methods in general terms only.

What the page does say is enough to act on. If an AI tool produced any of the text, the art or the translation, declare it. If you made the work and only used AI to tidy it, you are not required to.

Two related rules to know

• Publishing limits. KDP caps how many titles an account can publish. The Publishing Times has covered the weekly title limit of two per format and the removal of the short-reads exception line.
• Copyright registration is separate. Telling Amazon about AI content is not the same as telling the U.S. Copyright Office, which asks applicants to identify AI material in a different way. Our explainer on the Copyright Office's AI disclosure question covers that process.

For KDP policy changes as they happen, see our guide to where authors get Amazon KDP policy news and the KDP news desk.

Sources

• Amazon KDP, Content Guidelines (AI content definitions, disclosure requirement, enforcement and responsibility)
• Amazon, Amazon expands Kindle Translate, an AI-powered translation service
• Amazon KDP, Kindle Translate Languages and Kindle Translate Quality
• KDP Community, Introducing Kindle Translate in Beta