Newsletters
Books are starting to talk back. A new wave of artificial intelligence tools now lets readers ask questions directly to the books they are reading, getting answers on characters, historical context, or philosophical concepts without leaving the page.
Sinai.ai, a platform currently in testing, pairs an e-book or audiobook with an AI chatbot that answers reader questions using only the text of the book itself. French startup My Smart Book introduced a similar system in mid-April, also limiting its chatbot's responses to the book's actual content.
Amazon has entered the space as well. Its audiobook company Audible introduced a feature called 'Ask a Question' last fall, letting listeners pause an audiobook, ask a question aloud, hear an answer and resume where they left off. Amazon's Kindle offers a comparable tool called 'Ask this Book,' which responds to questions about plot and characters. AI voice company ElevenLabs has developed a similar function through its ElevenReader product.
The tools vary in how they access source material. iChatbook, founded by Brian Yang, does not use book text directly. Instead, its AI extracts key ideas and concepts from a book and explains them in simplified language, a method the company says avoids copyright complications since it never quotes text directly.
Other platforms take a less restricted approach. Myreader allows users to upload any book, copyrighted or not, and connect it to an AI interface. Google's NotebookLM, recently rebranded as Gemini Notebook, and BookWorm AI, a ChatGPT-based tool, do not screen for copyright status either.
Sinai.ai says it has developed a licensing system it calls 'AI rights,' under which authors and publishers are paid when their work is used through a chatbot. The company said it is in discussions with several major US publishers, including Hachette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Macmillan, though none of the five confirmed any agreement when contacted.
The approach has drawn criticism. In December, the Authors Guild criticized Amazon's 'Ask this Book' tool, stating it operates without a license, generates no new income for authors and does not offer publishers or authors the ability to opt in or out of the system.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
