Which AI Should You Use to Write and Self-Publish a Book?

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No single AI is best for writing a book: it depends on the job, so learn which one fits which task. I use the most advanced Claude model to analyse and improve a whole manuscript, never to write it, and ChatGPT for a picture edit where nothing else may change.

This post says what I use each one for, what the paid plans were on 14-Nov-26, and why I recommend one paid plan if you can afford it.

Which AI is best for which job?

This is my own experience, not a test you can repeat.

A picture edit where nothing else may change. Say you want one thing changed on a cover image and the rest left alone. ChatGPT keeps the rest of the image intact better than Gemini or Claude.

Analysing and improving a whole manuscript. I use the most advanced Claude model. Give it the whole book and ask what is weak. The way I work with it is in my answer on whether Amazon or Google penalize a book that used AI.

A cover. The free version of ChatGPT is enough for a cover, in my experience. Before you make one, read what KDP asks you to report about an AI cover.

Models change often, so the names above will date. The idea will not: learn which model fits which job.

What do the paid plans cost?

I read each company’s own page on 14-Nov-26. None of them carries a date.

Prices differ by country and change, and the pages show prices for the United States, so look at the page before you pay.

Is a paid AI subscription worth it?

I think it is, if you can afford it. For me the plan to pay for is Claude Pro. Anthropic lists it at $20 a month billed monthly.

One reason is that Claude can work in your browser. Anthropic says Claude in Chrome is available on all paid plans, and describes it as a browser extension that reads the page you are signed in to, then clicks, types and fills forms. In my experience that means it can walk you through filling in your KDP account and the upload of your book. Anthropic says you can have it ask before it acts, and that purchases, financial actions and anything you can’t undo wait for you.

Anthropic also says to avoid using it for financial transactions, passwords or anything involving sensitive personal data. Your KDP tax and bank details are exactly that, so enter those yourself and let the tool help with the rest.

If you cannot afford a paid plan, the free ChatGPT is still enough for a cover.

What do I not use AI for?

I would not have AI write the book for you. KDP separates AI-generated content, where a tool made the text, images or translations, from AI-assisted content, where you made it and the tool helped you edit or improve it. Only the first has to be reported, and KDP says that holds even after heavy editing of what the tool made. Read KDP’s content guidelines for its exact words, and what counts as AI-generated and what you must tell Amazon goes through them.

That is why I use AI for comments on a book that already exists, and for the picture jobs above, not for the words themselves.

Want the whole job laid out? My free self-publishing checklist lists each step, from idea to launch.

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