Amazon KDP AI Disclosure Rules Explained (2026 Guide)

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Amazon KDP's AI disclosure rule is short: when you publish a new book, or edit and republish an existing one, you must tell Amazon if any text, images or translations were AI-generated. You do not have to disclose AI-assisted content, meaning work you created yourself and only edited, refined or brainstormed with AI. The tricky part is knowing which side of that line your book falls on.

This guide explains the rule in plain English, with real-world examples, the related limits KDP has added since, and a simple habit that keeps you compliant.

The short version: watch our Short, then read the full guide below.

What KDP's AI disclosure rule actually says

From KDP's Content Guidelines, in the section on artificial intelligence content:

"We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP."

Three details are easy to miss:

It covers three content types: text, images and translations.
Images include the cover. KDP says AI-generated images include "cover and interior images and artwork."
It applies to republishing too. If you add AI-generated content when updating an older book, the disclosure applies to that update.

KDP also states that you're responsible for making sure all AI-generated and AI-assisted content follows its content guidelines, including intellectual property rights.

AI-generated vs. AI-assisted: the key difference

KDP defines the two terms like this:

AI-generated: text, images or translations created by an AI-based tool. KDP adds that it's considered AI-generated "even if you applied substantial edits afterwards."
AI-assisted: you created the content yourself and used AI tools to edit, refine, error-check or improve it. Using AI to brainstorm ideas, then creating the text or images yourself, is also AI-assisted. KDP says it's "not necessary to inform us" about these.

The question to ask yourself is simple: who made the first version of this content, you or the AI?

Real examples: disclose or not?

What you did	Generated or assisted?	Disclose?
Wrote your novel, used AI to fix grammar and typos	Assisted	No
Asked AI for 20 plot ideas, then wrote the book yourself	Assisted	No
AI wrote chapter drafts, you rewrote them heavily	Generated	Yes
Wrote a children's story, AI made the illustrations	Generated (images)	Yes
Drew your own cover, used AI to clean up the background	Assisted	No
AI image tool made your cover art, you added the title text	Generated (image)	Yes
Wrote 100 journal prompts yourself, AI checked spelling	Assisted	No
AI wrote the journal prompts, you edited them	Generated	Yes
AI translated your English book into Spanish	Generated (translation)	Yes

The pattern: editing tools don't trigger disclosure; creation tools do, no matter how much you edit afterward.

Tip: when in doubt about a specific part of your book, read the definitions again and answer for each part separately: text, cover, interior images, translation.

Why the rule exists (and what else changed)

KDP introduced the AI disclosure requirement in September 2023, and the Authors Guild reported the same month that KDP had also lowered its limit on new titles per day, confirming a cap of three new titles a day at the time.

Limits have tightened since. According to KDP's own announcement, starting September 21, 2026, you can create up to 2 titles per format per week (eBook, paperback and hardcover each), with the limit resetting every Sunday at 12:00 AM UTC. An October 5, 2026 update added a matching limit of 2 new submissions per format per week. Updates to titles you already submitted don't count.

Disclosure isn't the only rule that matters for AI books. KDP's content quality guide says it doesn't allow content that disappoints customers, including content "not significantly different from content in another book," content that's "too short," and content that's "poorly translated." Unedited, generic AI books tend to break those rules even when they're disclosed correctly.

Copyright: the other half of the picture

Disclosure tells Amazon how a book was made. Copyright is a separate legal question. In January 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office published Part 2 of its AI report. It concluded that generative AI outputs can be protected by copyright only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements, and that providing prompts alone isn't enough. It also confirmed that using AI to assist, or including AI material inside a larger human-made work, doesn't prevent protection.

In practice, the more of your book you genuinely create and arrange yourself, the stronger your position. This isn't legal advice; for a specific situation, talk to a lawyer.

A simple compliance habit: keep a creation log

You'll answer KDP's AI questions during setup, and again if you republish. Make it easy with a one-page log per book:

Part of the book	Tool used	What the tool did	Generated or assisted
Manuscript text	Word processor + grammar checker	Spelling and grammar fixes	Assisted
Cover art	AI image generator	Created the illustration	Generated
Cover text	Design tool	Title and author typed by me	Not AI
Interior illustrations	AI image generator	Created 14 images	Generated

A log like this takes five minutes and saves you from guessing months later when you update the book.

Checklist before you click Publish

Decide, for each part (text, cover, interior images, translation), whether AI created it
Answer KDP's AI questions to match your log
Check AI images for copied characters, logos, or look-alike designs
Remove fake lettering, watermarks and signatures from AI images
Read every page of AI-generated text yourself; fix errors and repetition
Make sure the book offers something different from what's already on the store
Plan releases around the 2-titles-per-format weekly limit

Publishing a specific type of book? See our guides to creating low-content books with AI, making a children's book with AI and designing a KDP AI book cover.

FAQ

Does Amazon KDP allow AI-generated books?

Yes. KDP's Content Guidelines allow AI-generated content, but you must disclose AI-generated text, images or translations when you publish or republish, and the book must still meet all of KDP's content and quality guidelines.

Do I have to disclose if I used ChatGPT to edit my book?

No, if you wrote the content yourself. KDP treats using AI to edit, refine, error-check or improve your own work as AI-assisted, and says you don't need to disclose it. If ChatGPT wrote the text, it's AI-generated and must be disclosed, even after heavy edits.

Does an AI-generated book cover need to be disclosed?

Yes. KDP says AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork. If an AI tool created your cover image, disclose it, even if you added the text yourself.

What happens if I don't disclose AI content on KDP?

KDP's guidelines say you are required to inform Amazon of AI-generated content, and its content quality guide says Amazon removes content that doesn't follow its guidelines. Answering honestly is the only safe option.

How many books can I publish on KDP per week?

Since September 21, 2026, KDP allows up to 2 new titles per format (eBook, paperback, hardcover) per week. An October 5, 2026 update added a limit of 2 new submissions per format per week.

Conclusion

KDP's AI rule comes down to one question: did an AI create this text, image or translation? If yes, disclose it; if AI only helped you edit or brainstorm, you don't need to. Keep a short creation log, answer honestly, and focus on making books that are genuinely better than what's already on the shelf.

We publish our own books on KDP too, like the picture book Lina and the Sleepy Coffee Tree. For more honest, practical AI publishing tips, subscribe to AI Money Pilot on YouTube.