Describe the actual contribution
Before a tool enters a manuscript workflow, decide which material may leave the desk, what contribution must be disclosed, and which record will preserve that decision. Name the actual task: brainstorming alternatives, checking a style list, producing a translation draft, generating an illustration, or drafting text later revised by a person. Keep the human decisions that shaped the final result, including source review, selection, rewriting, art direction, and factual checks.
At KDP, text, images, and translations created by an AI-based tool are treated as AI-generated even when substantially edited afterwards. Material created by the person and then edited, refined, error-checked, or brainstormed with AI is treated there as AI-assisted. This is a KDP classification for its publishing process, not a universal authorship rule or a substitute for rights clearance.
Choose before you upload
Ask whether the material contains an unpublished manuscript, a client draft, a source identity, personal data, a confidential review, or licensed content with a sharing restriction. If it does, identify the applicable account, retention setting, training or improvement setting, connected services, and who can access the project before sending it. A public product claim about security is not enough; terms can differ by plan, region, and feature.
Treat prompts and outputs as part of the production record when they materially shape the finished work. Save only what is useful and lawful to retain: tool and plan, date, purpose, inputs authorized for use, output selected, reviewer, and final disposition. This makes a later question answerable without turning every exploratory note into a public appendix.
Keep the checks human
A tool can propose a citation, a translation, a summary, a cover concept, or a voice treatment. Someone accountable should still check the source, rights, accuracy, credit, and reader-facing description. Be especially careful when a result resembles a named living creator, uses a real person’s likeness or voice, or converts a sensitive source into a confident-sounding explanation.
Maintain a short per-edition checklist: content generated or assisted; human review complete; rights and contributor credit checked; required platform disclosures submitted; and reader-facing wording approved. The checklist does not make every choice lawful or acceptable. It prevents a material decision from disappearing between draft, cover, metadata, and upload.
Sources & limits
This is editorial process guidance, not legal advice or an all-retailer policy matrix. Retailer definitions, contracts, and disclosure fields must be verified for the edition being uploaded.
- Content Guidelines
Amazon KDP · Source undated · Consulted 15 Sept 2026KDP requires disclosure of AI-generated text, images, and translations when publishing a new book or republishing an edited book, and distinguishes AI-generated from AI-assisted content.
- Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
U.S. Copyright Office · Source undated · Consulted 15 Sept 2026The Copyright Office maintains its AI initiative and reports as a central public record of its copyright-and-AI work.
Send a correction with the passage and supporting source.
