That New Amazon AI ‘Ask This Book’ Thing Has Made Me Pause

That new Amazon Ask This Book thing has made me stop and think.

I don’t usually rush to complain about platform changes, although I did when Amazon switched Kindle Unlimited to paying by pages read. That move hit a lot of authors’ earnings, mine included, and it was worth pushing back on. This feels like another one of those moments.

On the surface, Ask This Book sounds quite handy. Readers can ask questions about a book and get instant answers. But the more I’ve thought about it, the less comfortable I am.

I came across this after seeing A. K Caggiano talking about it on Instagram. Worth a look if you’re an author and missed it.

So what does this mean? It lets readers type questions about a book and receive automated answers based on the text itself. But they aren't the answers the author’s chosen. It’s the system’s interpretation of what the book says. 

In effect, the system reads the book and tells the reader what it thinks the answer is.

In my opinion, stories aren’t reference guides. They aren’t meant to be skimmed for answers. They’re built on voice, pacing, tension, and emotional payoff. An automated tool doesn’t understand subtext, tone, or why a story can be bleak, unresolved, or heartbreaking and still be satisfying. If it flattens a character or misrepresents something important, readers won’t blame the feature. They’ll blame the author.

There’s also the spoiler issue. If someone can ask whether a character dies, whether a relationship works out, or what kind of ending they’re getting, that changes how fiction is consumed. Stories become something to query rather than experience. That might suit some people, but it feels like a loss to me.

And what bothers me most is that authors weren’t asked.

There’s currently no way to opt out. I went onto KDP chat and asked directly if my books could be unenrolled from the feature. The answer was no. There is no unenrol option at all. My objection was logged as feedback and given a case number, but that’s as far as it goes.

If you’re an author or a reader and you’ve got thoughts on this, I’d genuinely like to hear them. Feel free to comment or message me. 

As for me, I’m still mulling all this over.