Macmillan employees recall a controversial AI assistant that was later discontinued

In January 2024, Macmillan Publishers introduced NOA, an AI assistant named 'No Ordinary Assistant,' which sparked controversy among employees. The tool, developed by Chaptr and backed by Holtzbrinck, was promoted as a secure environment for handling proprietary data. Despite warnings about hallucinations, employees were encouraged to use NOA for tasks like email drafting and goal setting. However, many found it unhelpful, and by October 2025, NOA was discontinued. Macmillan is now exploring Google Gemini for some tasks, though leadership has not mandated its use for content evaluation. Meanwhile, AI adoption in publishing has sparked tensions. Authors report issues like AI-generated marketing copy and hallucinated quotes, leading to distrust. Some authors are considering self-publishing due to publishers' reliance on AI. At Penguin Random House, employees avoid ChatGPT despite corporate encouragement, citing concerns over creative integrity. Authors demand transparency and ethical guidelines for AI use, warning that publishers risk becoming obsolete by sidelining human creativity.