New ‘Human Authored’ authenticity mark launched by Authors Guild
Jan. 30, 2025 — The Authors Guild yesterday unveiled “Human Authored”—a first-of-its-kind official certification system that writers and publishers will be able to use in their books and in marketing to indicate that the text of a book was human-written.
AI-generated books are flooding online marketplaces and increasingly look like, and sometimes even read like, human-authored books. The reader may have no way of knowing if a book they come across is AI-generated or authored by a human. The Authors Guild believes that readers have the right to know if a text was written by AI or a human, and that writers should have the ability to distinguish their work in increasingly AI-saturated markets.
The Authors Guild has been at the forefront of the battle over the unauthorized use of books and other copyrighted material as training data for AI models. Their 2023 lawsuit filed against OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, remains active in federal court.
For more information about AI lawsuits and copyright infringement, see TCAI’s Curated Guide to AI Lawsuits.
how it works
The Human Authored logo and name will be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office and supported by a registration system that will create a verifiable chain of trust between author and reader through a public database where anyone can verify a book’s human origins.
The use of the Human Authored mark is restricted to books and other works where the text was written by humans, except for a de minimis amount of AI-generated text to accommodate uses of AI-powered grammar and spell-check applications and other minor AI use.
Use of AI as a tool, other than to generate text, such as for research or brainstorming, does not disqualify a book, as long as the text was human written.
How authors can get certified
The certification process is easy yet robust. Authors simply:
Log into the Human Authored portal
Submit their book details and verify the information
Sign the license agreement, agreeing to use the mark only as permitted
Receive a unique, numbered certification mark for use on book covers, spines, or promotional materials
“The Human Authored initiative isn’t about rejecting technology — it’s about creating transparency, acknowledging the reader’s desire for human connection, and celebrating the uniquely human elements of storytelling,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild. “Authors can still qualify if they use AI as a tool for spell-checking or research, but the certification connotes that the literary expression itself, with the unique human voice that every author brings to their writing, emanated from the human intellect. In a market increasingly filled with AI-generated content, readers deserve to know whether they’re experiencing authentic human creativity.”
At this time, certification is only available for Authors Guild members and for books by a single author. The program will expand in the future to include books by multiple authors and books by non-Guild members.
Guild members who are interested in using the Human Authored certification for their work can get started here.