sweasel.com

The novel-writing AI came across my feed again today and the comments were so depressing. People either wanting to buy in or old hands. They all spoke of it as “my writing.” One person was on the platinum plan and put out 4 books a month.

So I asked Grok what percentage of Kindle Direct Publishing was AI, and this was the answer:

No exact official figure exists from Amazon, as KDP does not publicly release comprehensive stats on AI-generated content across its full catalog. Estimates come from independent studies using AI-detection tools on samples of self-published (mostly KDP) books; these tools are imperfect (with potential false positives/negatives) and often distinguish “substantial” AI text from lighter assistance or none. arxiv.org

New ebook releases overall: An NBER working paper (Reimers & Waldfogel) analyzed detection on a large random sample (>50,000 titles). Detected AI content was near zero through 2022, rose to ~30% of releases in 2023, ~45% in 2024, crossed 50% in 2025, and surpassed 60% by late 2025. This tracks the sharp rise in monthly Amazon ebook releases (roughly tripling from ~100k pre-ChatGPT levels to over 300k by late 2025), much of it attributed to AI officechai.com

2025 publications specifically: Related reporting on detection across tens of thousands of books found ~53% of those published in 2025 contained AI-generated text (vs. ~23% in 2023). nytimes.com

Self-published genre fiction (2023–early 2026 sample): A 2026 study of 14,419 titles (full-text detection via Pangram, matched to sales data through mid-2026) found: Substantial AI text (>25% of the book): 20% – Light AI text (≤25%): 17.1% – No detected AI: 62.9% – Any detected AI text: ~37% overall in the multi-year sample.

The share of sales going to books with any AI text rose over time and approached ~40% by Q2 2026; substantial-AI books also gained top-rank positions (e.g., up to ~31% of new Top-25 entrants in some analyses). These books underperform on a per-title basis but gain market share through volume. arxiv.org

Percentages are often higher in specific categories. Examples include ~77% of recent “Success” self-help books and ~63% of certain religious paperbacks flagged as likely AI (via detection on samples/descriptions). Low-content books (puzzles, coloring, journals, etc.) also see heavy AI use. originality.ai

Amazon allows AI-generated books on KDP (with required disclosure for content AI created from scratch—text, images, or translations — but not purely assisted editing/brainstorming). Disclosure is internal (not shown to readers), and enforcement has increased, with limits such as caps on daily uploads of AI-generated titles. Many books in the studies did not disclose, so detection is the primary measurement method. builtwritten.com

In short: For recent new releases on KDP/Amazon ebooks, credible detection-based estimates put AI-involved content in the roughly 50–60%+ range by late 2025, with lower overall shares in multi-year fiction samples and higher rates in some nonfiction niches. The total catalog (including older titles) would have a lower percentage. Figures continue to evolve with tool improvements and market changes.

And just to cap my anti-AI hypocrisy, I asked it to create an illustration to go with.