How do I disclose AI use as an author?
- There is no single AI disclosure standard; rules vary by context.
- Retailers like Amazon KDP ask whether content is AI-generated at upload.
- Publisher contracts increasingly include AI-use clauses you must answer honestly.
- Most contests require disclosure and many prohibit AI-generated work.
- Reader-facing disclosure is optional but builds trust when handled plainly.
Disclose according to the context, because the bar is set by whoever you are dealing with. Retail platforms ask at upload whether content is AI-generated; answer their definition honestly. Publisher contracts and contests increasingly require you to state your AI use, and many contests prohibit AI-generated work entirely — read their rules before entering. Reader-facing disclosure is usually optional, but a plain note about how you used AI tends to build trust rather than erode it.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Disclosure is shifting from courtesy to requirement, and the cost of getting it wrong is rising: a contest entry disqualified, a contract breached, an account flagged. Each context defines "AI use" differently — generating prose is treated very differently from using AI to edit or research — so a single blanket statement is not enough. Knowing the four arenas (platform, publisher, contest, reader) and answering each on its own terms keeps you both compliant and credible.
Chapter ii·What to include
- The platform’s upload question, answered to its specific definition.
- Any AI clause in your publishing contract, answered honestly.
- Each contest’s AI rules, checked before you enter.
- A clear internal record of how you actually used AI on the book.
- An optional reader-facing note where transparency builds trust.
- A distinction between AI generation and AI-assisted editing or research.
Chapter iii·Example
An author who used AI for research and comps but wrote every sentence herself answers her retailer’s upload question accurately — the content is not AI-generated — keeps a private note of how she used the tools, and confirms her chosen contest allows AI-assisted research before entering. When a reader asks, she explains plainly that AI helped her plan and check facts but never wrote the prose. Nothing about her process is hidden, and nothing is overstated.
WriteLoom keeps AI in the assisting seat — research, comps, critique — so your disclosure is simple: the planning and checking used AI, the writing is yours.
See how WriteLoom uses AI