Quick answer: Read KDP’s rejection message before changing your book. If it asks about AI disclosure, review your production process using the definitions below. If it identifies a different quality issue, address that issue rather than assuming an AI flag.
Need help finding the problem? Use the KDP rejection error decoder to find the relevant guide. Keep a copy of the email and the exact file you submitted so you can compare each correction.
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What this error means
Amazon’s Content Guidelines distinguish two kinds of use:
- AI-generated: a tool created text, images or translations used in the book. Disclosure is required even after substantial editing. Cover art counts too.
- AI-assisted: you created the content and used a tool to refine or check it, or used AI ideas before creating the content yourself. This does not require disclosure.
The requirement applies when publishing a new book or editing and republishing an existing one. There is no “substantial chapters only” exception in that policy.
Why it happens
An author may remember writing the manuscript but overlook how the cover or a translated passage was produced. Ask collaborators for a record of their process. Do not guess from the name of a tool: the same application can offer both editing and generation features.
A generic quality message is not evidence of a particular detection method. Keep disclosure, readability, rights and file-layout questions separate when diagnosing the rejection.
The fix
- Save the evidence. Keep the rejection message, submitted files and working drafts together. Note which book format was rejected.
- Review the workflow. List the tools and contributors involved in the text, cover, interior images and translation. Ask anyone who supplied material which parts they created with AI.
- Check the definitions above. Record the reason for each answer before updating the book’s AI-content questions in KDP. Follow the current form rather than a screenshot from an older tutorial.
- Address the stated quality issue. For example, compare any reported missing content with your original manuscript. Proofread the relevant passages; do not merely change a disclosure answer and resubmit the same defective file.
- Ask for clarification if needed. Reply through the support route in KDP’s message with the specific issue you cannot identify and the steps already taken. Keep the response with your submission notes.
- Review the revised edition before submitting. Check that the file you upload is the one you corrected. Keep the prior version so you can trace later questions.
How to pre-flight it
Make a simple production log: component, creator, tool used, and whether the tool supplied the content or helped edit your own work. This is more useful for disclosure than trying to obtain an “AI-free” score.
For a separate PDF-layout concern, try our free KDP Readiness Score. It is not proof of authorship, a rights clearance or an AI-disclosure decision. Amazon decides whether to accept a book.
Need the layout repaired as well? Compare formatting packages: print interior PDF from £69, or print + Kindle from £119, including UK VAT and two revision rounds. The fix-free guarantee covers formatting issues we handled; it does not cover content-policy or rights decisions. Resolve those before buying formatting solely to cure a policy rejection.
Related errors
FAQ
Will changing my disclosure guarantee approval or sales? No. Treat disclosure as an accurate record of how the book was made, not a sales tactic. We cannot predict Amazon’s decision or the effect on readers.
Should I add an author note? You can explain your creative process to readers, but a note is not a substitute for answering KDP’s questions. Avoid describing generated artwork as merely assisted if that misrepresents how it was created.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to disclose AI-assisted editing (Grammarly, ProWritingAid)?
Use the generated/assisted distinction above. Check the feature you actually used; a brand name alone does not establish how your content was produced.
How do I check whether my manuscript might trip KDP’s content-quality flag?
Start with a proofread, a comparison with your source manuscript and the actual rejection message. A third-party checker cannot certify that KDP will accept the book.
Will publishing.co.uk proofread my manuscript as part of formatting?
No. Formatting is separate from sentence-level proofreading, fact-checking and permissions work. See the package scope before ordering.
What if my book is genuinely AI-assisted — do I have to disclose?
Amazon says AI-assisted work does not require disclosure. The definitions above explain the distinction; keep a record of your process if you need to explain it later.
Related KDP error fixes
See the formatting errors hub and rejection fixes hub for other symptoms.
About this guide
Written by Robert Prime, founder of publishing.co.uk. Policy source reviewed on 18 October 2026. For an account-specific decision, use Amazon’s message and support response rather than treating this guide as an appeal outcome.
