What you need to know
- Amazon announced a generative AI feature, which resembles a classic chatbot, called "Ask this book."
- Users will soon notice an "Ask" feature when highlighting content in stories, which lets them ask the AI about a book's plot, characters, and more in a "spoiler-free" manner.
- Amazon says this feature will hit Android users in 2026; however, there are some concerns from authors and publishers about rights/copyright.
Amazon's preparing a new AI-powered feature for its Kindle app for mobile devices that aims to give readers insight into the stories they're reading.
The company announced the feature through a blog post, stating users will soon receive "Ask this book" in the Kindle app. Amazon claims that the purpose of the generative AI feature, which resembles an AI chatbot, is to make it "easier for you to stay immersed in your books." Users can highlight any part of a book they're reading to get started with "Ask this book."
The elements the AI can respond to seem relatively wide-arching. The blog post states the AI can deliver details about the story's plot, character relationships, and thematic elements "without disrupting your reading flow."
Amazon adds that its generative AI software can answer questions about highlighted portions in a "spoiler-free" manner. It was stated that the AI responds quickly. When highlighting a section of a book, users will notice an "Ask" button in the hovering menu. From there, users can enter their query before being placed in a formal chat with the AI.
The post suggests using the pre-made queries if you're looking to get going even faster, as well as your personally crafted question. "Ask this book" is rolling out for iOS devices in the Kindle app for U.S. users; however, Android readers will have to wait until 2026. Joining this is "Recaps," a feature that lets Kindle and Kindle app users on iOS gain a refresher about their favorite series after the downtime between book releases.
Not everyone's excited to dive in
Amazon's "Ask this book" has been making its rounds, and after the feature was highlighted by Publisher Lunch, there's uncertainty behind its effects on rightsholders (via Writer Beware). The publication didn't receive a definitive answer from Amazon about the "process and protections" it would grant authors and publishers, since this AI was deployed without their knowledge.
More importantly, it's also unclear about "the rights they are relying on to do this in the first place."
The Kindle app's relatively tame; however, an update from earlier this year directly affected Kindle users who relied on a key PC feature. Beginning in February, Amazon started removing the availability of Kindle's download and backup to PC feature via USB transfer. It's been speculated that the move was to try to quell the DRM removal issue that's plagued its digital books. This PC feature removal does not impact Kindle app users.
Those who previously enjoyed this Kindle USB transfer feature retain the “Deliver or Remove from Device” option.
