KDP asks you to tell it about AI-generated text, images and translations when you publish, and does not ask about AI-assisted work. If an AI tool created the content, you report it, even if you edited it heavily afterwards. If you wrote it yourself and AI only helped you edit or brainstorm, you do not. Below is what KDP’s own page says, what it leaves out, and what I would do in each case.
What does KDP require you to disclose?
KDP says it requires you to “inform us of AI-generated content” (text, images or translations) when you publish a new book or republish one you have edited. That is in the AI section of the KDP content guidelines. The guidelines cover your title, cover art and product description too, and KDP says it will reject or remove content that does not follow them.
The rule has been in place since 6 September 2023, according to The Bookseller’s report on the change.
What is the difference between AI-generated and AI-assisted?
The line is who made the content. The guidelines define the two terms like this:
| AI-generated | AI-assisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Who created the content | An AI-based tool created the text, images or translation | You wrote or made it yourself |
| What AI did | Made it, even if you edited it substantially afterwards | Helped you edit, refine, error-check or improve it, or helped you brainstorm |
| Do you tell KDP? | Yes | No |
Source: KDP content guidelines. KDP says you are “not required to disclose AI-assisted content.”
Two points from that page are easy to miss. Heavy editing does not turn AI-generated content into AI-assisted content. And brainstorming with an AI counts as AI-assisted only if you then write the text or make the images yourself.
Do AI covers and images count?
Yes. KDP says AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork. If an AI tool made your cover, or the illustrations inside a children’s book, you report it when you publish. If you only used AI to try out ideas and a designer or you then made the cover by hand, that is the AI-assisted side of the line.
If you are choosing a cover, your self-published book is judged by its cover covers what the cover has to do for sales.
What about translations?
Translations are on KDP’s list. A translation made by an AI tool is AI-generated and you report it. KDP’s page does not give any translation-specific AI rules beyond that. Separately, translated books must credit the translator and the original author.
What does KDP not say?
The page leaves several things open, and I am not going to guess at them:
- How you submit the disclosure. The guidelines say you must inform KDP but do not describe the form or the field.
- What happens if you do not disclose. The guidelines name no penalty for this.
- How KDP finds AI content.
- Whether AI-generated books are limited or banned beyond the general content guidelines.
- Whether buyers can see your answer. I have not found a KDP source for this either way.
- What to do with stock images. The page does not mention them. Its test is whether an AI tool created the content, so if you know a stock image was made by AI, I would report it. If you cannot tell, check the licence page of the stock site and keep a copy of it.
When the page is silent, the safe route is the one KDP can least object to: report anything an AI tool created and keep records of how you made the book.
Do I own the copyright on AI-generated material?
Only partly. The US Copyright Office’s Part 2 report (29 January 2025) says the use of AI tools to assist rather than stand in for human creativity does not affect copyright protection for the result. It also says copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, and that prompts alone do not give enough control (Copyright Office AI page, Part 2 report). Your own writing, and your creative selection, arrangement and changes to AI output, can be protected. This is not legal advice, and a copyright lawyer should look at any book that leans heavily on AI. My longer answer is in are self-published books copyrighted.
What should you do before you publish?
- Decide for each part of the book (text, cover, interior images, translation) whether an AI tool created it or you did.
- If an AI tool created any part, answer the AI question at publishing with yes and describe the right items.
- If AI only helped you edit, check or brainstorm, answer no for that part.
- Keep your drafts, notes and any licence pages in a folder. You may never need them. If a reader or a platform ever questions the book, they are what you will want to hand over.
- Read the KDP content guidelines again before each new book, because Amazon can change them.
What if readers accuse you of using AI?
KDP’s guidelines do not cover this, so I can only give you my own view. Do not argue in the reviews. Reply once, calmly, and say how the book was made. Having your drafts to point to makes that easy. If a book really was written with AI help, the disclosure answer you gave KDP is the accurate record, so give the same answer to readers.
If your account is ever closed or a book is blocked, why did my KDP account close without any notification and banned for taking shortcuts cover what I know about those cases.
For the full list of this year’s rule changes with their dates, see what changed at KDP in 2026.
If you are publishing your first book, get my free 12-step self-publishing checklist and work through it in order.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell KDP if I used AI to edit my book?
No. KDP calls AI used to edit, refine or error-check your own writing AI-assisted, and says you are not required to disclose it (KDP content guidelines).
Do I have to report an AI cover?
Yes. KDP says AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork, so an AI-made cover has to be reported when you publish.
Can I copyright a book that AI wrote?
Not the AI-written parts. The US Copyright Office says copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, but it does protect the human-written parts and your own creative selection and arrangement (Copyright Office, Part 2 report).
What if a reader says my book is AI-written?
KDP's guidelines do not cover reader accusations. Keep your drafts and notes so you can show how the book was made, and answer calmly and once. If the accusation is a false copyright claim, see are self-published books copyrighted.
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