Macmillan Staff Criticize NOA as Authors Report AI Strains

Macmillan workers say the publisher’s internal AI chatbot, NOA (No Ordinary Assistant), was unreliable and little used before its developer retired it in October 2025. Their accounts also describe bestselling authors’ growing distrust of Big Five publishers’ AI practices. Employees say Macmillan introduced NOA in January 2024. The chatbot was developed by Chaptr, a software company backed by Holtzbrinck, Macmillan’s parent. An internal email described NOA as a safe environment for proprietary information, while training sessions warned that it could hallucinate and required human fact-checking. Workers say they were encouraged to use it for emails, publicity copy, marketing research, ideas, and performance-review goals; some say they were told to paste only portions of authors’ manuscripts into it.