Big Five US publishers quietly adopt AI as staff push back

HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette have quietly integrated LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT into publishing workflows—emails to agents, publicity copy, cover art and marketing—without public disclosure or author consent. Employees describe mandatory "AI Champions" programs and AI-written rejection letters; Hachette and S&S say AI is allowed only for operational tasks.

• HarperCollins bought Claude, ChatGPT and Jasper licenses, naming "AI Champions"
• LLMs write agent emails, publicity copy and cover art without author consent
• Simon & Schuster offered $10,000 in 2024 for best AI use case
• Hachette and S&S say AI is allowed only for operational tasks