Google Adds AI Tools to Purchased E-Books Amid Copyright Fight

Google on Thursday, August 27, launched a feature that lets readers use eligible purchased e-books as interactive sources inside Gemini Notebook, creating a title-specific book-AI product as publishers and authors pursue a separate copyright lawsuit over Google’s alleged use of copyrighted works to develop Gemini.

Called Expert Intelligence, the program allows owners of qualifying Google Play Books titles to ask questions grounded in a book and generate study and reference materials, including quizzes, infographics and audio overviews.

How the feature works

Readers must purchase an eligible title through Google Play Books and add it to a Gemini Notebook. Google says users can ask questions about the book and receive responses grounded directly in that title. The company says the tools can also generate infographics, audio overviews, quizzes and other materials based on the book.

Not every Google Play Books title qualifies. Google says readers can check eligibility through the “Tools” badge on a book’s Google Play Books detail page. The initial rollout is limited to Gemini Notebook and eligible titles.

Google also says a book cannot be freely shared through a notebook. If a notebook owner invites collaborators, those users will be prompted to purchase their own copy to continue interacting with the book. Otherwise, the title will be unavailable to them inside the notebook.

More than 100,000 books at launch

Google said Expert Intelligence launched with more than 100,000 English-language books from publishers including Bloomsbury, De Gruyter Brill, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan Publishers, O’Reilly Media and Penguin Random House.

Google also said it worked with more than 15 bestselling authors on featured notebooks and related materials. Publishers Weekly reported that the initial collection is focused largely on nonfiction trade titles, while Google has said the program could later expand to textbooks, subscriptions, business research reports and other source types.

For selected people with U.S.-based Google accounts, Google is offering one free eligible e-book while supplies last. The company’s terms say the offer requires a promotional code and applies only to eligible titles.

Why the timing matters

The launch comes weeks after Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, Elsevier and author Scott Turow filed a proposed class action against Google on July 10, 2026. The plaintiffs allege that Google copied millions of books, journal articles and other textual works without authorization to develop its Gemini large language models.

The Association of American Publishers, which announced the filing, said the complaint alleges that Google used works obtained for limited purposes through Google Books and other services, along with material gathered from the web, for AI training. Those are allegations in ongoing litigation. No court has ruled that Google is liable for the claimed infringement.

That distinction is central to the publishing debate. Google presents Expert Intelligence as a publisher- and author-developed, title-specific experience available only after a reader buys an eligible book. The lawsuit concerns broader allegations that copyrighted works were copied and reused to train large language models. The new product does not, by itself, establish that Google’s broader training practices were lawful.

What authors and publishers are watching

Publishers Weekly reported that early industry reaction focused on the program’s ownership requirement and stated controls around copyrighted material. Penguin Random House described the arrangement as a responsible AI use case, while the Authors Guild said it could benefit readers, publishers and authors if the deals preserve meaningful control.

Important terms are not fully public. Publishers Weekly reported that whether authors must opt in or opt out may depend on their contracts with individual publishers, and that expansion outside the United States may depend on regional agreements.

For readers, the immediate takeaway is narrow: an eligible Google Play Books purchase may become an interactive study or reference source in Gemini Notebook. For the book industry, the larger question is whether paid, title-specific access can develop into a workable commercial model distinct from disputed large-scale AI training. Google says it plans to add more products and source types over time.

Sources

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