Amazon Introduces AI-Generated 'Recaps' Feature for Kindle Book Series

Amazon Kindle's new feature uses AI to generate recaps for books in a series | TechCrunch

Amazon is introducing a new "Recaps" feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company's press release for the new feature doesn't mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated. "We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content," Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta said in an emailed statement. Users have taken to Reddit to share their concerns about the use of AI for the feature, with some questioning how accurate recaps will be. Although the company has said that it ensures recaps accurately reflect content, TechCrunch has asked for more information about the process. Kindle device users in the United States can now view short recaps for books they've either purchased or borrowed for thousands of best-selling English-language eBooks in series. Amazon plans to bring the recaps feature to the Kindle app for iOS soon. To access recaps, users need to be on the latest Kindle software. Users can check if a series has a recap by looking for the "View Recaps" button on the series page in their Kindle Library or through the "View Recaps" option within the series grouping three-dot menu. Before you can read the recap, you will be warned that it includes spoilers about major plot points and characters. Once you acknowledge this, you will be taken to the recap. "By adding a new level of convenience to series reading, the Recaps feature enables readers to dive deeper into complex worlds and characters without losing the joy of discovery, all while ensuring an uninterrupted reading experience across every genre," Amazon wrote in a blog post. The company says recaps are available for all sorts of series, from epic fantasy series to mystery thrillers, including trending titles and longtime favorites.

Kindle's new AI recap feature helps bring you up to speed - how to try it

If you've ever picked up the latest book in a series and couldn't remember characters or what happened in the last book, Amazon has a new feature that might help you. Also: Want free ebooks? These 10 sites offer thousands of options Starting today, your Kindle is getting "Kindle Recaps," something Amazon says is similar to the "Previously on..." segment before a TV show. For certain books, Kindle Recaps make it easier to dive right back in, Amazon says, by giving a quick refresher on storylines and character arcs. Recaps are available for both books you've purchased and books you've borrowed. Also: How to add EPUB, MOBI, and PDF files to your Kindle - no converting required Amazon did not say how it chooses which books will get Recaps, but it is only for books in a series for now. It does not appear to be only for new books, as the press release shows the feature working for the Oz series of books by L. Frank Baum, published over 100 years ago. The press release about Kindle Recaps did not mention this fact, but Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that the summaries are written by AI (just like the site's review summaries), explaining: "We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content." Also: Why the Kindle Paperwhite is my favorite E Ink reader right now - beating Boox and Kobo The last part of that is encouraging, because if the summaries were entirely written by AI and never checked, there would always be a little concern about the accuracy. If you want to find Recaps, you'll need the latest version of the Kindle software. You can download it yourself or wait until you receive it through an over-the-air update within the next several weeks. Also: How to transform your old, obsolete Kindle into the ultimate open-source reader Once you have that software, look for the "View Recaps" button in the series page in your Kindle Library or the "View Recaps" item within the series grouping three-dot menu. Amazon says the feature will soon be available on the Kindle app for iOS. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Amazon Kindle Rolls Out AI-Powered Recap Feature

If you're a forgetful reader, or if you're picking up a book series that you haven't touched in a long time, Amazon is rolling out a new feature for Kindle that might come in handy. "Recaps" will give users short summaries of what has happened up until now in a book series, so you know what's going on before diving into the current title. Amazon compared it to the "Previously on..." segment before a TV show. Amazon didn't touch on how the recaps were created in the original announcement, but a spokesperson later confirmed to TechCrunch that they were produced by generative AI. Customers who want to use Recaps will need to first install the latest Kindle software updates. Otherwise, they will need to wait for an over-the-air update scheduled for within the next few weeks. To determine whether a series has Recaps available, look for the "View Recaps" button on the series page in your Kindle Library or the "View Recaps" item within the series grouping's three-dot menu. The feature is currently only available for users with a physical Kindle device, though Amazon says they will roll out the feature for iOS "shortly." The Kindle maker didn't mention when we could expect the tool to come to Android. Amazon didn't provide a list of supported titles, but said it is available "for best-selling English-language book series," including genres like epic fantasy and mystery thrillers, as well as "trending titles and longtime favorites." Amazon introduced similar AI-powered recap features last year on its other platforms. In November, it began rolling out X-Ray Recaps to Fire TV customers, which use AI to generate text summaries of episodes and seasons -- powered by Amazon Bedrock models and custom AI models trained on Amazon SageMaker.

Amazon will use AI to generate recaps for book series on the Kindle

It's now available for all Kindle devices in the US with the latest software. Amazon's new feature could make it easier to get into the latest release in a series, especially if it's been some time since you've read the previous books. The new Recaps feature is part of the latest software update for the Kindle, and the company compares it to "Previously on..." segments you can watch for TV shows. Amazon announced Recaps in a blog post, where it said that you can get access to it once you receive the software update over the air or after you download and install it from Amazon's website. Amazon didn't talk about the technology behind the feature in its post, but a spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch that the recaps will be AI generated. Shortly after the feature rolled out, users talked about it on social media, wondering if Amazon is using generative AI to write series summaries. They expressed concerns about the use of generative AI, especially about the possibility of the technology hallucinating plot elements that aren't actually in the books. "We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content," Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta told the publication. Iraheta assured TechCrunch that Amazon's recaps are accurate, but of course, use it at your own risk. At the moment, the Recaps feature is available for best-selling English-language book series on all Kindle devices in the US. To know if your favorite series has one, look for the "View Recaps" button within the series page in your Kindle library. It will soon be available for the Kindle app on iOS, as well.

This AI-powered Kindle trick gets you up to speed on any book series in a flash

Don't forget to grab your two free Kindle e-books for April if you're a Prime member Summary Long waits between book releases can make details fade, but Amazon's Recaps feature for Kindle helps jog your memory. Recaps give quick summaries with key plot points for popular book series, accessible in the Kindle app. AI is used to generate these quick summaries, aiming to help readers jump back into stories without rereading. Waiting months or even years for the next book in a series can really mess with your memory. Those long waits between releases -- thanks, author and publisher schedules -- mean key details tend to fade. And sure, you could go back and reread the last book, but who has time for that? That's where Amazon steps in. Related How to read free e-books for your Kindle e-reader or Fire tablet Expand your library beyond the Amazon book store Posts After launching it on Prime Video, Amazon is rolling out the Recaps feature on Kindle to help jog your memory and get you back in the story without all the re-reading. Think of it like those "Previously on..." moments from your favorite shows, as per Amazon's press release. Now, when you dive back into a book series, AI-powered Recaps will give you the quick-and-dirty on what went down, so you can hop right back into the story without flipping back hundreds of pages. It's live for US Kindle users for now on popular English series These quick recaps -- unlike the spoiler-free ones on Prime Video -- do give away key plot points, so heads up. Currently, they're available to Kindle users in the US for a bunch of top-selling English-language book series. Amazon didn't name-drop AI in its announcement, but the company later confirmed to TechCrunch that AI is doing the heavy lifting to keep you from flipping back pages. You'll know a book series has Recaps if you see a "View Recaps" button on its Kindle library page. You can also find it tucked inside the three-dot menu when looking at your grouped series in the Kindle app. Related How to manage your Amazon Kindle tablets and digital content Add or remove Kindle devices and e-books from your account with ease Posts Some users on Reddit have raised eyebrows over how accurate these AI-generated recaps really are. In the meantime, Amazon swears the summaries stick close to the actual story and are meant to make life easier for readers, especially when juggling complex plots and character arcs. The goal is to help you jump back in without killing the joy of the story. To use Recaps, you'll need the latest Kindle firmware. You can either grab it manually from Amazon's site or just wait for the over-the-air update to roll in. Amazon is also planning to bring the feature to the Kindle app on iOS soon.

New features are making old Kindles better page turners -- and I'm all for it

Ever gotten so lost in a book series that you don't remember a particular character's arc or the ending of the last novel? Thanks to an AI-automated summary feature for Kindle devices, you'll be back on track in no time. Simply known as Recaps, the new feature acts like a "Previously on..." television segment, giving readers a quick refresher on storylines and characters before reading the next book in a series. This feature, however, is only available for books borrowed (aka via Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited) or purchased from the Kindle Store and, of course, across ebooks in a series. Users can access the new feature by downloading the 5.18.1 update on a 10th-gen or newer Kindle device. Once updated, readers should look for the "View Recaps" button in the series page in the Kindle Library or the "View Recaps" item within the series grouping three-dot menu. If the "View Recaps" button isn't available, the feature is inaccessible for that series. Another great feature included in the latest software update is Double Tap to Page Turn. As the name suggests, the feature can be switched on in Kindle settings, and instead of pressing the screen, users can double-tap the Kindle's frame to turn a page or scroll down (i.e. on the Home or Library screen). This is a fantastic new addition that makes Kindles with no physical page-turn buttons easier to use in one hand. There's one disadvantage though: you can only move forward with double taps when reading, and users will have to rely on the usual screen taps to go back. Both of these features are a real page turner for Kindle users, as they allow forgetful readers (like me) to recap a previous book or flip through pages without smudging the device's screen. So far, Double Tap is available globally, whereas Recaps has only rolled out on Kindle devices in the US and on the iOS app. Amazon has not confirmed when it will be accessible for readers globally. While the company's press release doesn't explicitly mention the use of AI in Kindle's new feature, it has been confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch. As per an Amazon spokesperson, "we use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content". This isn't Amazon's only foray into using AI across its devices. The Kindle Scribes have AI summaries and handwriting recognition, while Ring cameras recently introduced a Smart Video Search for premium subscribers, using text-to-image prompts to scour saved footage. Readers have raised some red flags on Reddit about these AI-powered features, with concerns about recap accuracy and how Amazon plans to ensure that moderator checks are actually completed. The company claims recaps do accurately reflect content, but we have reached out for verification of these processes. We'll keep you updated on how this narrative pans out.

Kindles get Recap tool to quickly catch you up on the story progress

Amazon is taking some inspiration from the TV shows available on its Prime Video streaming platform, and porting it over to Kindle e-readers to keep users up to date on their progress. The feature in question is called Recaps, and as the name suggests, it will offer readers a quick look at the story progress and character development arc so far. Think of it as the "Previously on" segment at the start of each new episode on a TV show, but in a text format, for digital books. The feature is already available for e-books in the English language for users in the United States, covering purchased as well as borrowed copies. Recommended Videos It's a phased rollout, however, and might take several weeks to reach users via a software update. For now, it is limited to Kindle devices, but will soon expand to the dedicated iOS app, well. For books that have recaps ready for viewers, they will show a dedicated "View Recaps" button on the series overview page in library, or buried within the three-dot menu under the same name for each book's listing. How Kindle book Recaps work? "By adding a new level of convenience to series reading, the Recaps feature enables readers to dive deeper into complex worlds and characters without losing the joy of discovery, all while ensuring an uninterrupted reading experience across every genre," says the company. In case you haven't received the update yet, you can find instructions on manually installing the latest build on Amazon's support page. The build in question is v5.18.1, and for now, it is available for the 12th, 11th, and 10th gen Kindle Paperwhite, the 10th and 11th gen baseline Kindle, and the 10th Gen Kindle Oasis. Interestingly, Amazon says it relies on a mix of AI and human efforts to generate book recaps. The company told TechCrunch that recaps will "accurately reflect book content," which is a bold claim, considering AI's well-known hallucination problems. Kindle e-readers recently landed a cool page turn feature, while on the AI side, the company introduced an agentic tool called Nova Act that will autonomously perform browser-based tasks for you, like ordering food or booking appointments. The next-gen Alexa+ assistant, on the other hand, is having a slow start with multiple missing features during early tests.

This New Kindle Feature Helps Catch You Up on a Book Series in Seconds

Netflix Is Making It Easier to Learn a New Language While Streaming Amazon is unveiling a great new feature for fans who can't get enough of Kindle book series. Recaps will give you a quick reminder of the storylines and character arcs of previous books. The New Kindle Recaps Feature Provides a Quick Refresher Especially if it's been a while since you've read the previous book in a series, the details of what happened might be a bit fuzzy. But Recaps can help fill in those blanks. Amazon explains more about how it works: Similar to the "Previously on..." segment before a TV show, Kindle's new Recaps feature makes it easier than ever for readers to dive into the next book in their favorite series by providing a quick refresher on storylines and character arcs. Kindle device readers in the U.S. can now enjoy short recaps for books they've either purchased or borrowed for thousands of best-selling English-language eBooks in series. There are two ways to see if Recaps are available for your series. First, look for the View Recaps button in the series page on the Kindle library. You can also select View Recaps within the series grouping three-dot menu. After selecting a Recap, you'll see a quick message: Recap has spoilers. This recap will reveal character and plot developments from this title and preceding ones in the series. You can choose to select Cancel or I understand to view the information. To access the Recaps feature, your Kindle will need to be updated to the most recent software version. To do that, you'll need to manually download the software from Amazon or wait for it to arrive as an over-the-air update. The feature will soon be available on the Kindle iOS app. Recaps Provide a Great Way to Use AI to Improve the Kindle Interestingly, while Amazon didn't mention how the Recaps were created in its announcement blog, TechCrunch confirmed that the summaries are created with AI. While some readers might be bothered by that, I think Amazon just needs to make sure the AI works correctly to provide correct, and succinct, information. I'm excited to update my Kindle and try out some of the recaps of the book series I've been enjoying. Even though Amazon continues to add Kindle features, it recently made a baffling decision to many readers. In February 2025, the company discontinued a feature that lets you download purchased ebooks to a computer and then transfer it to your Kindle via USB. Along with the wide variety of Kindle readers, Amazon also offers three unique book subscriptions to make the most of its extensive catalog. If you can't decide, here's what to expect with Kindle Unlimited, Audible, and Prime Reading. All three have pros and cons depending on what you want to enjoy.

Kindle Will Now Give You a Short Recap Before Your Next Read

Recaps can be located inside the series page in the Kindle library Amazon is adding a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature to Kindle devices that will help users quickly refresh their memory while reading a book series. Announced on Wednesday, the new feature is dubbed Recaps, and it will provide a short AI-generated recap of the books already read in a series to bring the user up to speed before they read the next book. The e-commerce giant is currently rolling out the new feature via an over-the-air (OTA) update in the US. Notably, in November 2024, Amazon added a similar X-Ray Recaps feature to its video streaming platform, Prime Video. In a newsroom post, the Seattle-based tech giant detailed the new feature, which is being rolled out to Kindle users in the US. The AI-powered Recaps feature is designed to help those readers who find it difficult to get back into a book series because they do not want to read older books to remember key plot details. This issue particularly occurs when a book series is not complete and the reader has gone through the released titles. By the time the next book arrives, the memory of the events has faded. Many readers opt to read through a series in continuity because of this issue, which has its downsides, such as reading fatigue and genre boredom. Amazon's latest feature solves this problem by providing readers a short, AI-generated recap of the books they've already read so that they can move on to the next title without an issue. The recap contains plot points, a storyline summary, and character arcs. The company warns that the recaps will contain spoilers of the previous books. Currently, the feature is available for only English language ebooks that are part of a series. Notably, Amazon only recognises those books as a part of a series that were purchased or borrowed from its digital store. So, even if books added from other sources are part of a series, they will not show as such in the Kindle library, and the Recaps feature will not work. Users who have access to the feature can try it out by looking for the "View Recaps" button in the series page in their Kindle Library. Alternatively, it can also be found as an option within the series grouping three-dot menu. Updating the e-reader is necessary before the feature becomes visible. Amazon has not shared when the feature could be released in more regions.