Independent authors who use generative AI are not necessarily optimistic about what the technology means for their industry.
A new survey by AuthorAZ.com found that 95% (73 of 77) of respondents currently using generative AI expect the technology to negatively affect independent-author income over the next three to five years.
Of those 77 current users, 50 anticipate a strongly negative effect and another 23 foresee a slightly negative effect.
The finding reveals a tension within the survey sample: authors report incorporating AI into their professional or creative activities while simultaneously expecting it to make the economics of independent publishing worse.
The AuthorAZ Indie Author AI Survey 2026 gathered responses from 107 self-identified independent authors between 25 September and 9 October 2026.
Pessimism extends across the sample
Across all 107 respondents, 103 (96.3%) expect generative AI to reduce indie-author income over the next three to five years.
Nearly three-quarters, 78 of 107 (72.9%), anticipate a strongly negative impact.
Only one respondent expects a slightly positive effect, while three anticipate a neutral outcome.
These are predictions by survey participants, not forecasts derived from publishing sales or earnings data.
Reader distrust ranks above marketplace flooding
When asked to identify their greatest concerns about generative AI in commercial publishing, respondents placed reader confidence at the top.
Among the 105 authors who answered the multiple-choice question:
95.2% (100 of 105) selected reader distrust of self-publishing.
74.3% (78 of 105) selected marketplace flooding and discoverability.
60.0% (63 of 105) selected privacy and manuscript leakage.
48.6% (51 of 105) selected the use of copyrighted training data without consent.
The results show that concerns extend beyond competition from AI-generated titles.
For the authors surveyed, the potential erosion of reader confidence in independent publishing was the most frequently selected issue.
AI is already part of some respondents' working lives
The survey also asked authors how they currently use generative AI.
Among all 107 participants, 34 selected planning, structural feedback or editorial diagnosis as their current use category. Another 28 selected drafting prose, scenes or line-level text, while 15 selected business, marketing or administrative tasks only.
Sixteen respondents said they had tried generative AI and then stopped, while 14 said they had never used it and had no intention of doing so.
AI adoption also varied across publishing models in this sample.
Among the 14 hybrid authors, nine (64.3%) selected prose drafting as their current use category. The corresponding figure was 10 of 27 (37.0%) for full-time indie authors and nine of 50 (18.0%) for part-time indie authors.
These subgroup comparisons are exploratory and do not establish why authors choose to use AI.
The private cost of AI adoption
Despite current usage, many respondents expressed concern about how admitting that usage might affect their reputation.
Among 76 current AI users who answered a question about keeping AI use private because of criticism or boycotts, 74 (97%) agreed or strongly agreed.
Separately, 43 of the 77 current AI users (56%) said they never tell readers when AI has been used creatively or editorially.
The findings suggest that AI adoption, concerns about future earnings and anxieties about reader perception coexist within the same group of respondents.
They do not establish that one of those factors causes another.
An exploratory snapshot of independent publishing
The research is based on 107 anonymous, self-selected respondents recruited through the AuthorAZ newsletter and BookTok posts on TikTok.
Participants represented several genres and publishing models, including full-time and part-time independent authors, hobbyists and authors publishing both independently and traditionally.
The findings describe this specific group, not the independent-author population as a whole. Responses about future earnings are expectations rather than measured financial outcomes.
The full report provides the survey methodology, question-level denominators and further breakdowns of AI use, disclosure and author concerns.
Full research report: https://authoraz.com/indie-author-ai-survey-2026
About AuthorAZ
AuthorAZ.com is an independent publishing resource hub focused on author independence, privacy, rights and practical tools for self-publishing.
Its companion mobile application provides offline author tools without generative AI, cloud synchronization or user tracking.
