AI-Generated Books Flood Amazon and Other Bookstores

Users visiting online e-book stores such as Amazon are encountering a large number of works created or written using artificial intelligence (AI). These works often feature standard covers and template plots. Today, authors use AI-based systems that promise a ready-made e-book in less than 30 minutes, allowing them to release hundreds of titles annually under numerous pseudonyms.

This influx of new publications is impacting the publishing industry. Readers complain about the low quality of 'robotic content,' while human authors are losing visibility in search engines and seeing a decline in their income. If the advent of the e-book previously simplified distribution, AI has now significantly lowered production costs, but the market has become oversaturated. The question arises as to how to find clarity amidst so much noise.

Maurício Pinheiro, a professor of technology and arts from Sesc Piracicaba, explains to the publication Olhar Digital that AI has changed the scale of independent authorship. Now, one person can conduct research, structure, write, edit, and format a work.

This allows the author to operate almost like a micro-publishing house, testing various covers, descriptions, and niches at a speed impossible under the previous model.

This simplicity has transformed the logic of the digital market. Previously, producers aimed to create bestsellers, but the focus has now shifted to overall sales volume. Since the cost of text generation has dropped sharply, publishing dozens of titles consecutively has become a profitable business, even if each book sells little or the income depends on pay-per-read in subscription services.

Industry data confirms the impact of this industrial production tactic. For instance, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) shows that the number of e-books released on Amazon monthly has nearly tripled between 2022 and the end of 2025.

Another study conducted by the State University of New York found that the number of books with registered sales increased 19.2 times during this period, while total market revenue only grew by 8.9 times. This means that far more works are competing for readers' attention, leading to a decrease in average income per book.

According to the professor, who is also a software analyst, the reduction in production barriers has eliminated traditional filters that screened books before they reached the public. The specialist notes: 'For a long time, publishing was complex, and this complexity served as a filter before the book reached the audience. Now the filter happens later.'

The virtual stores themselves are now struggling to control this flow of synthetic content. For example, on the Rakuten Kobo self-publishing platform, 45% of uploaded e-books were rejected in one year, with 85% of these rejections being due to the books being AI-generated. Despite blocks and analysis, automated systems continue to bypass detection and add titles to stores daily.

Beyond market consequences, mass production of AI-generated e-books faces a legal hurdle in Brazil. Lawyer Marcelo Gargano, a digital law specialist at ABE Advogados, explains to Olhar Digital that Brazilian copyright law focuses on a natural person and requires human creativity to protect a work.

Gargano asserts: 'An e-book entirely generated by AI without significant human creative input does not have a natural person who could be recognized as the author of the creation, and without an author, there is no copyright protection.'

This implies that these books can be freely copied by third parties and also carry other risks for those who publish them, as there is a danger that the tool might reproduce copyrighted excerpts from other authors.

Furthermore, there is a discussion about the reader's right to know the origin of the purchased product. However, the country does not yet require platforms to indicate the use of technology on covers. The lawyer points out: 'It can be assumed that the consumer has the right to adequate and clear information about various products and services in accordance with the CDC, and therefore, the mentioned authors and platforms that publish them should inform consumers that this work was created using AI.'

Amazon serves as an example. On this marketplace, the books Tumbleweeds & Tequila: A Forced Proximity Romance (Shots of Love Book 2) by Sydney Marsh and Fighting Love’s Flame (Alaska Rugged Heart Series Book 3) by Dana Winston carry the following notice: 'This story was produced using AI tools, directed by the author' (free translation). However, it should be noted that this warning is hidden at the bottom of the description, behind the 'read more' button.

This legal vulnerability is accompanied by a change in the very value of the book, beyond its monetary equivalent. Since algorithms are capable of generating stories in large volumes, the ability to create acceptable text is no longer a distinguishing feature. AI is very competent at creating what seems plausible, familiar, and good enough. But there is a curious consequence: in an ocean of 'good enough' things, 'good enough' ceases to be a rare quality.

In this scenario of abundance, the value of the independent market shifts towards what cannot be automated. Factors such as personal style, repertoire, life experience, and the certainty that there is a real author behind the pages gain more importance for the reader's choice. The Sesc Piracicaba professor analyzes: 'If the text becomes practically infinite, then what cannot be produced infinitely begins to be valued higher: trust, reputation, perspective, repertoire, lived experience, taste, and recognizable relationship between the work and someone who is willing to take responsibility for it.'

Ultimately, self-publishing has turned into a battle against being overshadowed in an infinite catalog. Pinheiro concludes: 'I do not think the main fight will simply be between the human author and the artificial author. The fight will be between signal and noise.'

For the reader, the task of choosing the next book to immerse oneself in becomes more difficult. For the human writer, creating something outstanding now requires a 'secret ingredient' that a machine cannot replicate.