.png){kind=logo}
Amazon is testing interactive reading on Kindle. The e-commerce firm is reportedly rolling out a new AI-powered feature called ‘Ask This Book.’ The add-on lets readers ask questions about the contents of a book directly in their Kindle app.
According to publishing industry magazine PubLunch, the feature lets users select any passage from a book and query it in real time, without exiting the page. Readers can enquire about plot points, characters, or specific sections and receive AI-generated responses within a chat-style interface.
The feature is designed to work more like an in-book assistant. The e-book reader can highlight a passage, tap the in-book menu, and select Ask This Book. They have the option to either select suggested questions or type their own, and continue asking follow-up questions in the same thread.
Reports indicate that the feature is already turned on for thousands of best-selling English-language titles, though Amazon hasn’t clarified the complete extent of its applicability.
Ask This Book is currently available exclusively on the iOS Kindle app. The feature will soon arrive on the physical Kindle and the Android-based app in 2026. An Amazon spokesperson told PCMag the feature is always on, and authors or publishers can’t opt their titles out, a detail that may cause debate in the publishing world.
The move comes at a time when the publishing industry grapples with the copyright disputes related to AI and questions the reliability of large language models.
Concerns over licensing rights, potential inaccuracies or hallucinations in AI-generated answers, and the training data for AI models remain. Amazon has shared a few technical details about how the feature works or how it mitigates these risks.
Amazon recently launched a refreshed Kindle Paperwhite in India. The e-commerce giant claimed that it was the fastest ever version available to date. With an all-new sleek design, improved performance, and a 7-inch, 300 ppi glare-free display, the Paperwhite model will update long-form reading as well. With Ask This Book, Amazon is experimenting with how AI can reshape the reading experience.
