Rules now treat an ebook's text differently depending on whether a person or an AI tool wrote it. Amazon KDP asks you to disclose AI-generated text, and the US Copyright Office says AI output earns protection only where a human author shaped it.

AI writing tools can produce a full draft in minutes. That is tempting when you need an ebook fast. But three outside bodies have now set out how they treat AI-generated text: the store where most ebooks are sold (Amazon KDP), the US agency that registers copyrights, and the largest US association of working authors.

This page summarizes what each one says, based on their own pages. It is general information, not legal advice. For a specific contract or registration question, talk to a qualified lawyer.

We are a ghostwriting company, so we are not neutral. Our own policy is at the end, and we try to be fair to AI tools where the rules allow them.

KDP's content guidelines draw a line between two kinds of AI use.

The disclosure happens on the Content tab when you publish, as a separate answer for text, images and translations. A third-party walkthrough dated 2026 reports that Amazon can reject or remove non-compliant content and that you can appeal. We could not confirm from KDP's own page whether readers see the disclosure on a product page, and the walkthrough found no sign that they do.

Note that the definition turns on who created the content, not how much you polished it. AI cover art counts as an image. Check the current KDP help page before every publish, because platform rules change.

The Copyright Office published Part 2 of its report on copyright and AI, on copyrightability, on January 29, 2025. Its main conclusions, as summarized on its own pages and the Library of Congress blog:

• AI outputs can be protected only where a human author has determined enough of the expressive elements.
• Giving an AI prompts alone does not make you the author of the output. The Office excludes "the mere provision of prompts."
• A human-written work that is visible in an AI output, or a creative arrangement or modification of the output by a person, can qualify.
• Using AI as an aid, or placing AI-generated material in a larger human-made work, does not by itself bar copyright.
• The Office found no case for changing current law to protect AI output.

Earlier, in March 2023, the Office published registration guidance that requires applicants to disclose AI-generated content in their filings, according to a law-firm summary of the guidance.

What this means for an ebook: a manuscript written wholly by AI may have little or no copyright protection, which could make it hard to stop others copying it. A manuscript written by a person, who then uses AI only as a minor aid, sits on firmer ground. The details depend on the facts, so ask a lawyer.

The Authors Guild is a US association for working writers. Two of its pages are useful here.

AI Best Practices for Authors (the page shows it as current to May 11, 2026). It advises authors to:

• Tell their agent and publisher up front about AI-generated material, so copyright registration can be completed accurately.
• Disclose substantial AI-generated text to readers, for example in the front matter.
• Use AI only as background support, not by copying its output into the book, and to fact-check anything it says.
• Be cautious about uploading drafts, outlines or interview transcripts to public chatbots, which may use inputs for training unless you opt out.
• Use written contracts with ghostwriters, co-authors and editors that bar more than trivial AI-generated text without written approval, and require those helpers to disclose AI use.

Human Authored certification. The Guild's revised terms say a work counts as human authored if its text is fully written by humans and not generated by AI, apart from very small amounts. It allows things like spelling and grammar checkers and AI-made indexes. It removed its earlier explicit allowance for brainstorming and outlining, saying those uses could shape a manuscript too much.

Note the gap between the two rules. KDP treats brainstorming as AI-assisted and does not require disclosure. The Guild's certification is stricter. Neither is wrong: they serve different purposes.

• Rights. If a person did not author the words, you may not hold a copyright you can enforce. A publisher contract may also promise the work is original, and the Authors Guild warns that AI-generated text could breach such a promise.
• Disclosure. Skipping a required disclosure can lead to rejection or removal of a title, according to the walkthrough above.
• Accuracy. The Guild tells authors to fact-check all AI output and watch for bias. A book with confident but wrong claims damages your name, not the tool's.
• Sameness. Without your own stories, data and opinions, any draft can read like many others. Designrr, a lead magnet resource, argues that firsthand experience and original data are what make ebooks stand out.
• Privacy. Pasting private notes, client details or interview recordings into a public tool may expose them.

AI tools are not forbidden. Under KDP, using AI to edit, refine, error-check or brainstorm your own work counts as AI-assisted and needs no disclosure. The Copyright Office says using AI as an aid does not bar copyright. The Guild accepts AI as background support, if you fact-check it and do not copy its output into the book.

Reasonable uses include:

• Checking spelling and grammar on text a person wrote.
• Brainstorming topic angles or chapter ideas, with a person writing the chapters.
• Drafting an index or title ideas for a person to review.

The line moves when the tool writes sentences that go into the manuscript. At that point, KDP calls it AI-generated, and the other rules above apply. If you use AI for outlines or research, keep a record of what you used it for, so you can answer questions later.

Ask these questions before you sign with any ghostwriter, agency or platform. Get the answers in writing, in the contract.

1. Will any part of the manuscript text be generated by an AI tool? If yes, which parts, and which tool?
2. Do you use AI for outlines, research or editing? How is that recorded and reported to me?
3. Will you tell me if your process changes during the project?
4. Does the contract state who owns the copyright, and does it include a promise about AI use? The Authors Guild recommends such terms.
5. Where do my notes, recordings and drafts go? Are they entered into public AI tools?
6. Who is the writer, and will a person revise the draft after any machine step?
7. If AI-generated text turns up later, who fixes it and who pays for it?

A provider who answers clearly and puts it in the contract is worth more than one who says "trust us."

Manuscripts at Top eBook Ghostwriters are written by human ghostwriters. We do not use AI to draft manuscripts.

Here is how that shows up in the work:

• You are matched with a writer in your genre, and you approve the match.
• Your writer studies how you speak through a voice questionnaire, your existing notes and writing, and a recorded conversation.
• You approve a first-chapter voice sample before the full manuscript is written, and you approve each chapter before the next.
• You keep 100% of the copyright, royalties and credit under a signed work-for-hire agreement, with your name on the cover.
• Every clause is in a plain-English contract signed before any payment milestone.

See how it works, rights and copyright and our guarantees. If you plan to publish, our ebook publishing guide covers each store, and our guide on lead magnet ebooks covers short guides. For a fixed quote, use the contact page. Packages start at $2,850; see pricing.

• Content guidelines (Amazon KDP help)
• How to declare AI use on KDP (ebookpbook, third-party walkthrough)
• Copyright Office Releases Part 2 of Artificial Intelligence Report (US Copyright Office)
• Inside the Copyright Office's Report, Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2 (Library of Congress blog)
• Can works created with AI be copyrighted? Copyright Office issues formal guidance (Ropes and Gray)
• AI Best Practices for Authors (Authors Guild)
• Clarifications regarding the Human Authored certification terms (Authors Guild)
• How Long Should Your Lead Magnet Ebook Be (Designrr)