Amazon is rolling out a new generative AI feature for the iOS version of its Kindle app, the digital version of one of the best eReaders. The new “Ask this Book” tool is a chatbot that will provide “spoiler-free” answers about the book’s plot, characters, and more.
The AI feature was announced in a blog post proclaiming that the bot is available for “thousands of English-language best selling” books. .
Amazon is pitching the AI chatbot as an “expert reading assistant” that makes it “easier for you stay immersed in your books.” As you’re reading, you can highlight a portion of the book to get started with the bot.
Ask this Book can seemingly provide a broad array of information from plot details and character relationships to thematic elements, but the company claims it will only reveal information up to your current reading position.
Amazon also announced another AI-based feature, “Recaps”, which is supposed to give you a refresher about book series you’re reading while you wait for the next book or when you’ve taken a prolonged break.
How Ask this book works
According to Amazon, when you highlight a section of your book in the Kindle app you should see a new “Ask” button in the menu. Tapping that button will let you type in a prompt before being placed in a chatbox with the AI.
Additionally, some pre-made suggested queries will be available if you didn’t have a question prepared.
The feature is rolling out to the Kindle iOS app now. As mentioned, the Android Kindle app won’t receive this feature until next year. Additionally, Amazon says it will come to Kindle devices in 2026, though a specific timeline wasn’t provided.
Authors concerned
When it comes to artificial intelligence, there has been a lot of concern about rights and AI’s effects on authors. Most every AI company has been accused of copyright infringement, and Anthropic settled a class action lawsuit with authors earlier this fall.
Insider publication Publisher’s Lunch (via Writer Beware) highlighted the feature earlier this week with concern over the AI bot generating information without permission or rights. The site apparently did not receive a definitive answer from Amazon about the company’s process regarding the AI bot or what rights it relies on.
They did learn that the feature is always on and authors and publishers can not opt out.
“The primary focus has been on preventing unpermissioned AI training, but with the technology embedding itself at warp speed in all aspects of the book business, the rights implications are expanding just as fast,” Writer Beware notes.
This isn’t the first time the company has done something controversial to the Kindle platform this year. Back in February Amazon took away the ability to download Kindle books and back them up on a PC using USB transfer.
Let us know if you believe Ask this Book infringes or will it be a helpful tool for readers?
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