The news starts 2026 as it ended 2025, with Amazon's new Ask This Book feature for Kindle books. When I first reported on this, I had yet to see the response from authors. Thanks to a link in Jane Friedman's newsletter, I have now been able to read and digest a very robust response indeed from the Authors Guild.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
I want to start by noting that the Authors Guild seems to have succeeded in getting at least some kind of response from Amazon beyond the “you can't switch it off . . . because performance” that is all I had previously seen. There are three parts to the response in the AG piece:
- Prompts through the feature get an answer by scouring the book. This isn't retained or used for general training.
- This is an expansion of the existing search capability and as such doesn't need a license.
- Readers have been asking these questions through search engines for years. Now they can do so without having to leave the environment of the book.
The Authors Guild Response
The AG response takes on these issues. It doesn't see the new feature as “just” an expansion of search but as something that means “Amazon is possibly creating a derivative use.” It draws parallels with other in-book features and makes the argument for licensing, stating, “It is our position that uses such as ‘Ask this Book' and other AI enhancements to books must be licensed and compensated.”
Broader Implications
There are two final points of interest, both of which have implied criticisms that go beyond the explicit comment. First is an expressed concern over the lack of an opt-out for rights holders, noting that this sets a dangerous precedent. And second is to note that this first concern is heightened by Amazon's market position when it comes to e-books. The warning may be implied, but it is that of a slippery slope. How far down that slope we already are, they don't say.
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