AI Working Group

Summary

View the recordings of our AI Webinar Series

How to Get Involved

If your organization is part of the book publishing ecosystem—whether you’re a publisher, printer, distributor, retailer, library, or system vendor—your contributions can help inform how we approach AI in the book industry. Participation is open to both BISG members and nonmembers.

1. To join, e-mail info@bisg.org to express your interest and get on the mailing list for meeting invites, agendas, and other key communications.
2. Attend working group meetings, held monthly through June 2026. View the full schedule of AI Working Group meetings here. 
3. Engage in discussions, resource development, and programming based on your (and your organization’s) expertise and capacity.

By joining, you will have a direct impact on how we approach AI in the book industry.

2026 Working Group Charter

Scope of this effort

In book publishing, AI (generative and deterministic) has applications across editorial creation and management, marketing, metadata, rights management, accessibility, and forecasting. The most widely discussed use cases involve evaluating, generating, or editing content, while supply-chain applications include analyzing large data sets, strengthening sales forecasts, and assessing market trends. Key concerns include an uncertain legal landscape for use, control, compensation, and protection of copyrighted materials; variable data quality used to train AI models; and the reliability of AI outputs. There is also no uniform approach to disclosing AI-generated content to consumers. Rapid technological change adds further challenges, as publishing organizations work to keep pace with evolving tools and standards. 

Current State

Survey Results: Data from the Summer 2025 survey of over 500 industry professionals shows a book industry actively experimenting with AI but divided on adoption. About 46% of individuals and 48% of organizations report using AI, while 98% express at least one significant concern. Key pain points include copyright (86%), hallucinations (84%), market saturation from AI-generated content (81%), and biased or low-quality training data (79%). Fewer than 30% of organizations reported formal AI governance policies, and only 27% use closed or enterprise models to safeguard content. Many professionals remain ethically opposed (31%) or uninterested (33%).  The survey confirmed a need for AI education and best practices.

Legal and Regulatory Context: AI adoption in publishing is unfolding amid a complex legal and regulatory environment. US cases such as Bartz v. Anthropic and Kadrey v. Meta have tested whether using copyrighted works for AI training constitutes fair use, offering limited guidance but signaling potential copyright liabilities. In Europe and Canada, litigation continues over unauthorized use of works in AI datasets, while legislators develop AI-specific rules on transparency, accountability, and intellectual property. These trends highlight the importance of clear policies and careful documentation for AI use.

Current Applications: Across the supply chain, AI use extends beyond marketing and editorial. Publishers employ AI for metadata enrichment, rights management, editorial assistance, and sales forecasting. Distributors and retailers are exploring AI for inventory planning. Some libraries are piloting AI to improve cataloging and discoverability, although it may represent the most skeptical segment. Service providers offer AI-enabled workflow optimization, accessibility tools, and analytics. It is worth acknowledging that the pathways to AI adoption at large publishers versus small publishers are—and will likely continue to be—very different. Larger publishers can develop in-house proprietary (or acquire third party enterprise) solutions. In contrast, a key challenge for smaller publishers is determining the most effective way to adapt existing, accessible AI tools to meet their specific needs and requirements. Adoption remains uneven, with smaller organizations often lacking formal policies, technical capacity, or financial resources to develop or purchase solutions, reinforcing the need for shared guidance and best practices.

Objectives

1. Collect publicly available information on book-publishing-related applications of AI, evaluating applications to determine their potential impact. Consider the need for labeling for either content generated by AI or use of AI in product development.

2. Lead or facilitate discussions about effective and concerning AI applications

3. Propose a policy or a collection of best practices that support the use of AI while addressing issues like intellectual property copyrights, privacy, and bias

4. Publish findings as appropriate

Stakeholder Impact/Benefits

1. Gathering information about current applications can increase awareness and understanding of AI

2. Examining AI applications in editorial, metadata, rights, accessibility, and forecasting provides the basis for potential breakthrough developments that would improve efficiency or effectiveness across the supply chain

3. Understanding risks can inform the use of AI in book publishing environments 

4. Engaging multiple committee efforts provides an opportunity to reduce the siloed nature of current discussions about metadata, rights, and supply chain issues

Deliverables

In 2026, the AI Working Group will:

1. Develop and host an educational Spring 2026 AI Webinar Series focused on AI developments specific to key segments of the book industry supply chain, drawing in part on insights from the Summer 2025 industry survey.

2. Publish a comprehensive white paper—in partnership with BookNet Canada—summarizing the findings of the Summer 2025 industry survey and outlining implications and opportunities for the book ecosystem.

3. Create a dedicated AI Resources page on the BISG website to provide guidance on practical book industry applications, curated tools, case studies, and education to support the navigation of AI tech and responsible incorporation into workflows.

4. Recommend pathways for ongoing AI support within BISG by identifying how the Metadata, Rights, Subject Codes, Supply Chain, and Workflow Committees can continue advancing AI-related guidance after the AI Working Group concludes.

Blockers

As AI adoption accelerates across the book industry, maintaining broad and balanced representation across all segments of the supply chain is even more critical. While progress has been made, there remain notable gaps in AI-specific expertise—particularly in operational, rights, metadata, and workflow domains where AI tools are emerging faster than shared standards or best practices.

To ensure that the working group can meaningfully address industry-wide challenges and opportunities, BISG will continue to prioritize recruitment of working group members with hands-on AI experience and diverse functional perspectives. Expanding working group engagement from BISG’s membership will be essential to strengthening our collective understanding of AI’s impacts and ensuring that the insights produced in 2026 are both practical and reflective of the industry’s evolving needs.