https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/22/detection-firm-finds-82-of-herbal-remedy-books-on-amazon-likely-written-by-ai [p] Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/1Next imagePrevious imageToggle caption Skip to navigation Print subscriptions Newsletters Sign in US[ ] * US edition * UK edition * Australia edition * Europe edition * International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian [ ] * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Show moreHide expanded menu * [ ]News + View all News + US news + US politics + World news + Climate crisis + Middle East + Ukraine + US immigration + Soccer + Business + Environment + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Wellness * [ ]Opinion + View all Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * [ ]Sport + View all Sport + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + WNBA + NHL + F1 + Golf * [ ]Culture + View all Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * [ ]Lifestyle + View all Lifestyle + The Filter + Wellness + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Support us + Print subscriptions + Newsletters + Download the app * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + Live events + About Us + The Guardian app + Video + Podcasts + Pictures + Inside the Guardian + Guardian Weekly + Crosswords + Wordiply + Corrections + Tips * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + Live events + About Us * The Filter * Wellness * Fashion * Food * Recipes * Love & sex * Home & garden * Health & fitness * Family * Travel * Money robotic hand using laptop (concept of AI replacing white collar worker) [ ] Fully AI-written books should be labelled as such, the Publishers Association says. Photograph: Kilito Chan/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Fully AI-written books should be labelled as such, the Publishers Association says. Photograph: Kilito Chan/Getty Images Books Detection firm finds 82% of herbal remedy books on Amazon 'likely written' by AI Originality.ai scans 558 titles in herbal remedies section between January and September Aisha Down Wed 22 Oct 2025 13.42 EDTLast modified on Wed 22 Oct 2025 14.16 EDT Share With gingko "memory-boost tinctures", fennel "tummy-soothing syrups" and "citrus-immune gummies," AI "slop" has come for herbalism, a study published by a leading AI-detection company has found. Originality.ai, which offers its tools to universities and businesses, says it scanned 558 titles published in Amazon's herbal remedies subcategory between January and September this year, and found 82% of the books "were likely written" by AI. "This is a damning revelation of the sheer scope of unlabelled, unverified, unchecked, likely AI content that has completely invaded [Amazon's] platform," wrote Michael Fraiman, author of the study. "There's a huge amount of herbal research out there right now that's absolutely rubbish," said Sue Sprung, a medical herbalist in Liverpool. "AI won't know how to sift through all the dross, all the rubbish, that's of absolutely no consequence. It would lead people astray." One of the apparently AI-written books, Natural Healing Handbook, is a No 1 bestseller in Amazon's skincare, aroma therapies and herbal remedies, subcategories. Its introduction touts the book as "a toolkit for self-trust", urging readers to "look inward" for solutions. Natural Healing Handbook's author is named as Luna Filby, whose Amazon page describes her as a "35-year-old herbalist from the coastal town of Byron Bay, Australia" and founder of the brand My Harmony Herb. Sarah Wynn, the founder of Wildcraft Journal, calls the book a "resource and an inspiration". However, neither Luna Filby, My Harmony Herb, Wildcraft Journal or Sarah Wynn appear to have any online presence beyond the Amazon page for the book - an indication, said Fraiman, that they may not exist. The Guardian could find no evidence of the pair. Originality.ai's tool flagged available samples of the text as AI-generated with "100 % confidence". AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it | Jonny Geller Read more Originality.ai's research turned up several red flags that indicate possible AI-generated herbalism content, including liberal use of the leaf emoji and nature-themed author names such as Rose, Fern, and Clove. At least 29 of the apparently AI-generated books also referred to the work of controversial herbalists Barbara O'Neill and Alfredo Bowman, who have both promoted unproven cures for cancer. Those books are part of a larger trend of unverified AI content being sold on Amazon. Last year, amateur mushroom pickers were warned to avoid foraging books sold on the platform, apparently written by chatbots and containing questionable advice on how to discern a lethal fungus from an edible one. Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said his organisation was urging Amazon to start labelling AI-generated content. "Any book that is fully AI-written should be labelled as such and AI slop must be removed as a matter of urgency." Amazon said: "We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale, and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed, and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines." Explore more on these topics * Books * Artificial intelligence (AI) * Amazon * Alternative medicine * Publishing * Internet * Health & wellbeing * news Share Reuse this content More on this story More on this story * [4167] AI can help authors beat writer's block, says Bloomsbury chief 3d ago * [4068] 'Every kind of creative discipline is in danger': Lincoln Lawyer author on the dangers of AI 20 Oct 2025 * [2000] 'We don't celebrate Black creativity enough': why the Black British book festival is bigger than ever 18 Oct 2025 * [1333] Certified organic and AI-free: New stamp for human-written books launches 15 Oct 2025 * [457] Judy Taylor obituary 7 Oct 2025 * [9256] AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it 18 Sept 2025 ... ... comments * [1125] Tech companies are stealing our books, music and films for AI. It's brazen theft and must be stopped 10 Sept 2025 * [4099] The end of the road? What The Salt Path scandal means for the nature memoir 2 Aug 2025 * [5090] Waterstones opens 10 new stores a year as younger adults embrace reading 17 Aug 2025 * [3240] Sixpennies: Penguin publishes its first paperback - archive, 1935 30 Jul 2025 ... ... comments Most viewed Most viewed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. * The Filter * Wellness * Fashion * Food * Recipes * Love & sex * Home & garden * Health & fitness * Family * Travel * Money * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email * About us * Help * Complaints & corrections * Contact us * Tip us off * SecureDrop * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Tax strategy * Terms & conditions * All topics * All writers * Newsletters * Digital newspaper archive * Bluesky * Facebook * Instagram * LinkedIn * Threads * TikTok * YouTube * Advertise with us * Guardian Labs * Search jobs * Work for us * Accessibility settings * Back to top (c) 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)