Amazon has introduced an innovative AI feature to its Kindle app, designed to provide readers with spoiler-free responses to their inquiries about the books they’re engaged with. Notably, authors are unable to opt out of this feature, as confirmed by the company.
Dubbed “Ask this Book,” Amazon promotes this tool as an “expert reading assistant.” It is engineered to address questions related to plot intricacies, character dynamics, and thematic elements. Importantly, it maintains a spoiler-free experience by confining its responses to the portions of the book the reader has already explored. This tool functions much like an in-book chatbot, accessible via the book’s menu or by highlighting specific text passages for inquiry.
In a statement to Publishers Lunch, Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta clarified that the answers provided by this feature are “non-shareable and non-copyable.” These responses are exclusively available to individuals who have either purchased or rented the books. Iraheta also emphasized that the feature is permanently active, stating, “there is no option for authors or publishers to exclude their titles from this functionality.”
