NEWS · COMPANIES · #1807
Major US publishers quietly using LLMs for publicity and marketing; staff push back
Reporting by WIRED and interviews with staff indicate that at least three of the Big Five — HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette — have been using large language models (Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and services like Jasper) to generate publicity copy, marketing materials, emails to agents, and some cover art without public disclosure or author consent; HarperCollins reportedly bought Claude licenses and assigned employees as internal “AI Champions.”
KEY POINTS
- Reporting by WIRED and interviews with staff indicate that at least three of the Big Five — HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette — have been using large language models (Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and services like Jasper) to generate publicity copy, marketing materials, emails to agents, and some cover art without public disclosure or author consent; HarperCollins reportedly bought Claude licenses and assigned employees as internal “AI Champions.”
- The shift affects author consent, copyright/ethics, editorial labor and transparency across major publishing houses, with potential legal and reputational risks.
- Book Publishers Are Quietly Using More AI. Staff Are Revolting
WHY IT MATTERS
The shift affects author consent, copyright/ethics, editorial labor and transparency across major publishing houses, with potential legal and reputational risks.