Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House deployed a new copyright notice in all new and reprinted books, stating that no part of each book may be used to train AI systems. This change, first reported in October 2024, applies globally across all PRH imprints.

The updated copyright text reads: 'No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.' PRH also added language to its books published in EU markets that expressly reserves its works from the text and data mining exception provided under European Union copyright law. This is a legal and policy measure rather than a technical AI system, but it directly governs how PRH's content may interact with AI pipelines. The company has stated it 'maintains that the unauthorized use of copyrighted content to train generative AI models constitutes copyright infringement.'

Penguin Random House deployed an internal AI tool called PRH ChatGPT in early 2024, making it available to all employees as a secure way to experiment with generative AI in their daily work. The company described the tool as a way to help staff learn about the technology and identify opportunities to enhance creativity and productivity.

PRH ChatGPT is a version of OpenAI's ChatGPT hosted in a secure internal environment so that no company data or intellectual property is shared with external parties. The company made it available to all employees and framed it as an exploratory program to identify potential uses for streamlining workflows, boosting creativity, and providing data insights. The tool covers functions such as text generation, summarizing, and Q&A in response to employee prompts.

Penguin Random House uses machine learning tools, developed by its internal data science teams, to forecast book sales and manage inventory levels. The company has confirmed this practice has been in place for over a decade.

PRH's data science teams have built machine learning models that predict demand — for example, determining the starting print run for a new title or setting the selling price for an e-book. The company has also posted job listings for Senior Machine Learning Scientists focused specifically on e-book pricing and forecasting, describing these as existing production systems. These are internal tools used by operations and supply chain staff, not exposed to readers.