New paper says AI-written books now make up 20% of self-published sales on Amazon
TuhinChakr · x · 2026-07-28
A new paper on AI and copyright argues that AI-generated or AI-assisted books are already having a measurable economic impact on self-published writers.
According to the quoted findings from Amazon genre fiction:
- about 20% of self-published books include substantial AI text
- AI-assisted books account for 20% of total sales
- roughly one-third of bestsellers include AI text
- writers who do not use AI are earning less as a result
The paper’s broader claim is that the presence of large numbers of AI books can crowd out non-AI titles even when the books themselves are not especially high quality. The thread uses this to challenge the industry’s legal argument that training on copyrighted works causes no financial harm.
Related event: Study Says AI Self-Published Books Are Squeezing Amazon Sales(17 posts)→
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