KDP’s AI Question: Generated or Assisted?

What Amazon’s Page Says

The rule sits in KDP’s Content Guidelines, under “Artificial intelligence (AI) content”. These are the sentences that count, quoted as we read them in November 2026.

On what you have to do:

“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 images include cover and interior images and artwork. You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content.”

On what counts as generated:

“We define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool. 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.”

On what counts as assisted:

“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.’ 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.’ It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes.”

And on who carries the can:

“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.”

The Line Is About Who Made the First Version

Amazon’s test is about origin. Editing doesn’t move text across the line in either direction: your own paragraph polished by a tool stays assisted, and a tool’s paragraph you’ve reworked for a week stays generated.

It’s tempting to expect a test of proportion, where a lightly used tool counts for less. KDP’s page doesn’t work that way, and it gives no percentage or word count below which a generated passage stops counting.

Sorting Real Cases

This table is our reading of Amazon’s wording. Amazon didn’t write it, and it doesn’t bind anyone.

What you did	Our reading
You wrote the book, and a tool flagged typos and grammar	Assisted (“error-check”)
You talked through a plot with a chatbot, then wrote it all yourself	Assisted (“brainstorm and generate ideas”)
You pasted in your chapter and asked for it tightened	Assisted, on the words “edit, refine”, though see below
A tool drafted a scene, and you rewrote most of it	Generated (“even if you applied substantial edits”)
You kept one paragraph a tool wrote	Generated, for that paragraph
An AI translated your novel into German, and you corrected it	Generated (translations are named)
An image model made your cover or chapter ornaments	Generated (cover and interior images are named)

The third row is where honest writers get stuck. If you ask a tool to tighten a page and it returns substantially new sentences, did you create that content, or did it? KDP doesn’t say where editing ends and creating begins. When you can’t tell, the cautious reading is the one that costs you least if someone asks later, and KDP’s support is the only place that can give you Amazon’s view of your case.

When You’re Asked

The page gives two moments: when you publish a new book, and when you edit and republish an existing one. So a backlist title you’ve never touched is one thing, and the same title with a new AI-made cover is another. If you’ve changed anything by AI since your last answer, answer again when you republish.

The question appears in KDP’s book setup, alongside the formatting and file choices, behind sign-in, so we haven’t quoted the screen here. Read it when you reach it, because the form’s wording is what you’re answering. If you publish several formats, look at each one’s setup rather than assuming your paperback’s answer carried over.

What Happens With Your Answer

KDP’s Content Guidelines don’t say what it does with your answer in particular. They don’t say whether it shows on your Amazon page, whether it’s used to review your book, or what follows a wrong answer.

The same page does say some general things about all content. KDP enforces its guidelines “using a combination of machine learning, automation, and dedicated teams of human reviewers”. It will “reject or remove content that does not adhere to these guidelines”, and “may also request additional information” before a book goes on sale. If it removes a title, it tells you and you can appeal.

The nearest thing we found about the answer itself comes from the Authors Guild, in its statement when the rule arrived in September 2023. The Guild wrote that Amazon “will use this information to help shape policies” and “has not yet agreed to add disclosures to all book listings for AI-generated books on its other channels outside of KDP”. That’s the Guild’s account and it’s three years old, so read it as history.

You’ll find blogs that state flatly that readers never see the answer, or that describe recent crackdowns and penalties. We couldn’t confirm those from Amazon, so we’ve left them out.

Keep a Note While You Write

Nobody remembers in March what a tool did to the ferry scene last August. A plain note per book covers it: which tool, what you asked it to do, which chapters, which images, and roughly when. Write it as you go, and answer KDP from the note rather than from memory. It’s also what you’ll want if a publisher, a prize or a reviewer ever asks.

If you draft in Shiro, it keeps this record for you: it logs whether each passage was typed, pasted, assisted or generated, and its report gives the answer for KDP, counting text it wrote as generated even after you edit it, as Amazon asks. It’s a record to answer from, and the answer is still yours to give.

KDP’s Line Isn’t the Only One

Your KDP answer settles your KDP answer. Copyright is a separate matter: the US Copyright Office, for one, has its own report on AI and copyrightability, and other countries have their own law. Other stores, publishers, agents and prizes write their own rules, and some ask more than Amazon does.

If the money or rights at stake are serious, talk to a lawyer who knows publishing. This page tells you what a help page said in November 2026, and Amazon can change that page whenever it likes, so read it again before you publish.

The Questions People Ask

Do I have to disclose AI-assisted content to KDP?

No. KDP’s Content Guidelines say, “You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content.” You remain responsible for making sure that content follows its guidelines, including intellectual property rights.

If I rewrite AI text heavily, is it still AI-generated?

By KDP’s definition, yes. If an AI tool created the actual content, it counts as AI-generated “even if you applied substantial edits afterwards”.

Does using AI only for brainstorming count?

KDP treats it as AI-assisted, provided you ultimately created the text or images yourself, and says it isn’t necessary to inform them.

Does an AI-generated cover count?

Yes. KDP says AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork, so a cover from an image generator must be disclosed even if every word inside is yours.

Will readers see my answer on the Amazon page?

KDP’s Content Guidelines don’t say. We found no statement from Amazon either way, so we won’t guess. Check KDP’s help or ask its support if this matters to you.

Last revised November 2026.