Writers and AI

Write to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP here 

Recent developments in AI pose a significant threat to writers’ work and earnings and we have been working hard to stay ahead of rapidly changing developments to ensure writers’ rights are at the forefront of employers’ and policy-makers’ minds, and to provide guidance to our members.

Find out more about our work in this area below.

• We responded to the Government’s consultation on copyright and AI and thanks to all our many members who did too and took part in campaigning around the Government’s preferred ‘opt-out’ model, which we strongly opposed. The Government has now rowed back on this, in a report published in March 2026. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said that this development represented a “win for collective action” and you can find out more here.
• Read our manifesto Putting writers at the heart of the story which has recommendations on copyright and AI
• Read our policy position statement Writers and AI  
• We supported the #DontStealThisBook campaign signed by thousands of authors and distributed at the London Book Fair in March 2026.
• We responded to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on AI, copyright and the creative industries in March 2026. You can read our response here.
• Ahead of the US State visit in September 2025, WGGB signed an open letter demanding the Government explain its failure to protect the rights of UK copyright holders.
• WGGB and our members supported action around the Data (Use and Access) Bill, including an amendment on transparency proposed by Baroness Kidron. Our members protested outside Parliament in support of amendments to the Data Bill (read more here) and we also signed an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Bill has now received Royal Assent.
• WGGB took part in expert working group meetings hosted by the Government in September 2025 which included representatives of the creative and AI sectors.
• WGGB took part in research, Impact of generative AI on the novel, published in November 2025. Read it here.
• Read our update on the Anthropic case and access the searchable settlement website here.
• Read our advice for authors who have found their work in the LibGen database of pirated work used by Meta to train AI, and find out about the joint letter we delivered to Meta here
• Read our response to Audible’s AI plans
• Read our statement on WeTransfer and AI
• Read our guideline Using AI as a research and writing tool – the risks
• Read our guide My book has been used to ‘train’ AI – what can I do?
• Read our guide What writers need to know about Meta’s new privacy policy
• Read our guideline Don’t let Grok use your data! 
• Read the letter we wrote to ITV over their proposed Head of Generative AI role
• Read the letter we signed to software developers as part of the Creators’ Rights Alliance
• WGGB was involved with and supports the TUC’s AI manifesto published in February 2025, which calls for action to protect workers in the creative industries amid huge changes in AI. You can read more in The Guardian, including a quote from WGGB Chair Emma Reeves, here, and view a video of Emma below.
• Watch a video of WGGB delegate Aisha Josiah at TUC Women’s Conference 2025, speaking in support of the motion ‘Women creative workers and generative AI’.
• The WGGB Wales Branch participated in the report A snapshot of workers in Wales’ understanding and experience of AI, which was launched in January 2024. You can read the report here.

Great to see WGGB Chair @emmajanereeves featured in this @The_TUC video, talking about how her work was stolen to train AI – and why Government needs to protect creators https://t.co/zsnoNc1ypT

— The Writers’ Guild (@TheWritersGuild) March 6, 2025