WIRED: three of the Big Five are quietly using AI, and their own staff aren't happy
-
R. S. Breed Founder
WIRED ran a piece this week called "Book Publishers Are Quietly Using More AI. Staff Are Revolting". It's based on interviews with more than two dozen publishing workers, all anonymous, so take it as their account rather than proven fact. The gist:
- HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette are named. Staff say chatbots are being used to write emails to agents, publicity and back-cover copy, marketing material and even cover art, often because management asked for it.
- HarperCollins reportedly bought AI licences and then asked staff to volunteer as "AI champions" to find uses for them. HarperCollins didn't respond to WIRED.
- Simon & Schuster told WIRED staff have a limited set of approved tools, using them isn't compulsory, and anything unapproved is banned. Staff there also wrote an open letter against a trial of workflow-monitoring software.
- Hachette said it supports AI for operational work but not creative work, including talking to authors. Staff described uses that cross that line.
The awkward bit is the contrast. This is the same industry that has sued over AI training and cancelled books when authors were suspected of using it. Hachette's Shy Girl was one of those, and staff in the piece reckon the public cases are the tip of the iceberg.
Why I think indie authors should care:
- "Traditional" no longer guarantees a human did the blurb, the cover or the email you got. If that matters to you when you're querying or signing, ask. In writing.
- Your contract is where this gets decided. If a publisher can put your book through AI tools for translation, audio or marketing, you want that spelled out. Not legal advice, but it's a question worth asking before you sign, not after.
- It cuts both ways for us. We get held to a "no AI" standard by readers, rightly or wrongly. It's fair to expect the big houses to be as upfront as they ask authors to be.
I've had my own run-in with this as a self-publisher. I paid for covers and found out after publishing they were AI. So I'm not surprised, just tired of nobody saying so up front.
If you're with a traditional publisher, have they told you anything about how they use AI on your books? And if you're querying, would this change which houses you'd sign with?