Ebook and audiobook retailers are increasingly offering AI-enabled interactive features, sparking a backlash from authors’ groups.
Amazon and ElevenLabs now each allow readers to generate discussion of characters, plot, or themes with AI bots; ElevenLabs described the function as “a personal book club.” Amazon’s version, though, angered the Authors Guild, which said that publishers and authors could not opt out, and that it created in essence a new, interactive book format, for which authors’ rights should be renegotiated.
The electronic market is increasingly important to publishers and authors. Recent polling found that US ebook owners are the biggest readers — 13% read more than 50 books in 2025, compared to 4% of those who prefer physical books.