AI and the Quantity and Quality of Creative Products: Have LLMs Boosted Creation of Valuable Books?

Imke Reimers and Joel Waldfogel

No 34777, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The diffusion of LLMs from 2022 to 2025 tripled new book releases. While average book quality, measured by usage, declined, the surge in releases raised the number of modest-quality books. Direct evidence using AI detection shows that AI-containing books have lower quality, and their rising share – topping half of 2025 releases – drives the overall decline. A nested logit calibration shows that AI books raised consumer surplus by seven percent in 2025. Author selection accounts for most of the AI quality differential, and the AI-human differential shrinks over time. Finally, AI has not displaced authors active prior to LLMs.

JEL-codes: L16 L82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ain, nep-cul and nep-ind
Note: IO PR
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