How to Publish an AI-Assisted Book on Amazon KDP: A Step-by-Step Guide

You can publish a book made with AI on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Amazon's rule is about disclosure, not prohibition. If any text, images or translations in your book were created by an AI tool, you tell Amazon when you publish. If you only used AI to edit, refine or error-check work you created yourself, you don't have to disclose it. Either way, you are responsible for making sure the book meets all of KDP's content guidelines.

Below is how that disclosure works, what Amazon pays, and a practical path from a finished manuscript to a live listing for an ebook and a paperback.

Does Amazon KDP Allow AI-Generated Books?

Yes. KDP's content guidelines define AI-generated content as text, images or translations created by an AI-based tool, and require you to tell Amazon about it when you publish a new book or edit and republish an existing one. AI-assisted content, meaning work you created yourself and then improved with AI tools, doesn't need to be disclosed.

The distinction is practical. If an AI wrote a chapter and you lightly edited it, treat that chapter as AI-generated. If you wrote the chapter and used AI to catch typos or tighten sentences, that's AI-assisted. When a book mixes both, answer for the AI-generated parts.

Amazon's other rules still apply in full. Listings can't mislead customers about what's in the book, and undifferentiated copies of public domain titles aren't allowed when a free version is already in the store. Those rules, rather than AI use, are what get most low-effort books removed.

"Amazon doesn't ban AI. It bans books that mislead readers, and it asks you to be honest about how yours was made."

How Much Do You Earn on KDP?

For ebooks, KDP offers two royalty options. The 35% option pays 35% of the list price. The 70% option pays 70% of the list price, minus delivery costs, on sales in eligible territories, and requires a list price between $2.99 and $12.99 on Amazon.com. The ceiling rose from $9.99 to $12.99 in July 2026.

For paperbacks, Amazon pays a royalty rate of 60% on Amazon.com for list prices of $9.99 and up, or 50% below that, minus the printing cost. Printing cost depends on page count, ink type and marketplace. Amazon's own example is a 333-page black-ink paperback that costs $5.00 to print, which earns a $4.00 royalty at a $15 list price. Sales through Expanded Distribution earn 40%.

How Do You Publish Your Book on KDP, Step by Step?

• Finish and proofread the manuscript. Read it end to end at least once. AI drafts can repeat themselves or drift on names and timelines, and readers notice.
• Export the files. KDP accepts EPUB and DOCX for ebooks and a print-ready PDF for paperbacks. Paperback interiors with full-page art need a 0.125-inch bleed on the top, bottom and outside edges.
• Make the cover. Ebooks need a front cover image. Paperbacks need a full wrap: back, spine and front sized to your page count.
• Create the title in KDP. Enter the title, author name, description, keywords and categories, and answer the AI content questions honestly for text, images and translations.
• Upload the files and preview them in KDP's previewer, on both a phone-sized and a tablet-sized screen.
• Set your price and royalty option, then publish. Ebooks usually go live within a few days.

What Should You Avoid?

• Descriptions or keywords that promise something the book doesn't deliver.
• Publishing near-identical books in bulk. Repetitive, low-value titles are what Amazon's quality reviews target.
• Unedited AI text. Even when disclosure is correct, an unread manuscript makes for bad reviews.
• Images you can't vouch for. You're responsible for making sure every image in the book is something you have the right to publish.

How Does Anthra Help You Get Ready for KDP?

Anthra takes a book from idea to KDP-ready files in one place. You plan and write with the agent, run continuity and prose checks, and review every suggested change before it lands. When the book is done, you export EPUB, DOCX and print PDF files, build a matching front cover, spine and back cover, and keep a revision history of everything you wrote and changed. That history makes it straightforward to answer Amazon's AI questions accurately.