A wave of new AI tools now lets readers ask questions directly to books as they read them. Ahmed Kamel, CEO of Sinai.ai, a platform now in testing, said, “You are dealing with a book as if it is a living object — it’s totally different.” French startup My Smart Book launched a similar tool in mid-April, with its chatbot drawing only on the actual text. Amazon’s audiobook company, Audible, launched a feature called “Ask a Question” last fall, allowing listeners to ask questions mid-listen. An Audible spokesperson said the tool is “designed to answer questions specifically about the audiobook the listener is currently engaged with.” Amazon’s Kindle has “Ask this Book,” described as an “expert reading assistant.” ElevenLabs built “ElevenReader Voice Chat,” which it says “turns any book into a two-way conversation.” The question of who gets paid is thorny. Sinai.ai says it only offers books in the public domain or with author or publisher sign-off. Another company, iChatbook, uses a library of concepts and ideas, never quoting the book directly to avoid copyright issues. Some platforms, like Myreader, let users upload any book regardless of copyright. Google’s NotebookLM, recently rebranded as Gemini Notebook, and BookWorm AI do not screen for copyright either. Sinai.ai says it built “AI rights,” a system that pays authors and publishers when their work is used by