New AI Tools Let Readers Talk to Books

Imagine conversing with a book as you read it. A new wave of AI tools is making this a reality, allowing readers to ask questions directly to e-books and audiobooks. These platforms aim to deepen reader engagement by providing instant access to information about characters, historical settings, or complex concepts.

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You are dealing with a book as if it is a living object -- it's totally different.

Companies like Sinai.ai and French startup My Smart Book are developing chatbots that draw exclusively from the book's text, ensuring answers remain within the narrative's scope. Even tech giants are entering the space: Amazon's Audible offers an "Ask a Question" feature for audiobooks, and Kindle's "Ask this Book" acts as a reading assistant. ElevenLabs' "ElevenReader Voice Chat" transforms any book into a conversational experience.

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We're excited about the potential for AI-powered features to enhance the customer experience.

However, the rise of these AI reading tools brings significant questions about intellectual property and revenue sharing. Sinai.ai claims to have a system for paying authors and publishers, focusing on public domain works or those with explicit permissions. In contrast, iChatbook's AI extracts key ideas without direct quotes, potentially sidestepping copyright issues. Other tools, like Myreader and Google's Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), do not appear to screen for copyright, raising concerns about unauthorized use of protected material.

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Our chat book is not a library of books -- it's a library of concepts and ideas and facts.