Book Publishers Are Quietly Using Generative AI Behind the Scenes

AI is reshaping publishing In this year’s headlines, American book publishers appear to be fighting back against generative AI. Publishers and authors sued Google for alleged copyright infringement, while publishers canceled a book by an author suspected of using a large language model.

Major Publishers Are Adopting AI Without Public Disclosure

But behind the scenes, at least three of the five largest U.S. book publishers—HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette—are quietly incorporating AI tools into their publishing processes without public disclosure or author consent.

According to interviews with more than 20 employees, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing their employment, publishers now rely on LLMs such as Claude and ChatGPT to email literary agents, write press releases and back-cover copy, design cover art, and create marketing materials. Employees said these uses often take place at management’s direction.

Authors Face Scrutiny Over AI-Generated Books

At the same time, multiple editorial staff members pointed to widely publicized cases of authors accused of using LLMs to write books, including Hachette’s horror novel Shy Girl and Macmillan’s crime thriller Please Call Me, I’ll Hide My Body. One editor said those cases were “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Every magazine has a story about a very well-respected person whose book was canceled because of blatant use of AI,” the editor said, adding that some cases have not made the news.

HarperCollins Asked Employees to Find AI Use Cases

Senior HarperCollins executives purchased a Claude license from Anthropic several months ago but “quickly realized they didn’t know how to implement it,” according to a current employee. Dozens of junior- and senior-level staff members were then “volunteered” to become “AI champions” and identify potential uses during monthly brainstorming sessions with employees across the company.

When some HarperCollins employees raised concerns about the legal, ethical, and environmental implications of AI during one brainstorming session this spring, the person leading the meeting dismissed those concerns as a “cost of doing business,” according to someone who attended the meeting.

Shortly afterward, a statement was added to the new AI section of HarperCollins’ online employee portal: “AI does have an impact on the environment, but it’s only a small part of most individuals’ total digital carbon footprint.”

Employees Question AI Spending and Workplace Priorities

Some HarperCollins staff members said they were nervous about the brainstorming sessions. “It was like a slap in the face,” one employee said. “We’ve been making a legitimate business case for paying healthy salaries for years, but instead they spent that money on software that most of us don’t really want.”

According to Publishers Weekly, the average entry-level salary for Big Five and Scholastic publishing employees in New York City was $47,583 in 2023.

In addition to Claude, HarperCollins also purchased licenses for ChatGPT and Jasper, an agent platform that promises to “run end-to-end marketing workflows,” according to staff members.

AI Marketing Tools Are Already in Use

At least one HarperCollins division has gone “full force” on AI since acquiring the software licenses, including the production of AI-generated marketing videos, according to one staffer.

Employees at HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette said one of the most common uses of LLMs so far is generating promotional copy.