HOW AUTHORS GET FOUND BY AI

Can Authors get discovered by AI?

 This is the first in a short series on how authors get discovered in a world of AI, search engines and changing reader behaviour.

PART 1:

READERS CAN’T BUY WHAT THEY CAN’T FIND

I was at the theatre this week with my sister and a friend.

My friend has only recently discovered Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

I know. Crazy, right?

As we waited for the show to start, they began talking about all the books they’d been reading.

Except that's not quite what happened...

For the next twenty minutes, they talked almost exclusively about authors.

Not books.

Authors.

“I love her.”

“Have you read anything by him?”

“I found her via the "TikTok Made me buy it" feature amazon...and can't stop reading her stuff!”

“You’d love that author.”

As I sat between them, I realised something.

They were barely mentioning book titles at all.

They were talking about the people behind the books.

Because once readers discover an author they enjoy, they’re often no longer buying a single book.

They’re buying into that author’s world.

And that’s when it hit me.

Most authors spend their time trying to sell books.

Readers are often trying to find authors.

The problem is that before readers can become fans, they have to discover you in the first place.

And that’s where many authors struggle.

Not because their books aren’t good enough.

Not because they aren’t writing enough.

But because discoverability has become increasingly complex.

Readers now discover authors through search engines, recommendation algorithms, social media, book communities, retailer platforms, newsletters, podcasts, and increasingly, AI-powered tools like ChatGPT.

All of these systems have one thing in common.

They need information.

Information about who you are.

What you write.

Who your books are for.

How your books connect together.

Why a reader should care.

If those signals are weak, inconsistent, or missing entirely, it becomes much harder for readers to find you.

|And readers can’t become fans of authors| |they’ve never discovered. |

Over the next few posts , I’m going to show you how author discoverability is changing, why your website is more important than ever, and what practical steps you can take to make it easier for readers and AI systems alike to understand who you are and what you write.

There are a lot of people out there talking about AI finding your BOOK, and whilst that is important, it's only part of the story.

Because visibility isn’t really about being found by AI.

So...How do authors get found by AI?

It’s about being found by readers.

Next part coming soon...

P.S. If a reader asked ChatGPT, Google, Goodreads, or BookBub for authors similar to you, would those platforms know enough about you to make the recommendation?

P.P.S THE HEADLINE NEWS HERE - How authors get found by AI in a Nutshell

AI gives readers a completely new way to discover authors and it has the potential to become one of the most important discovery channels we’ve ever seen.