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The horror novel \u201cShy Girl\u201d is being pulled from publication in the United States and won\u2019t be sold anymore in the U.K. due to suspected use of artificial intelligence (AI) by the author, Mia Ballard.<\/span><\/p>\n Hachette Book Group, one of the largest publishers in the United States, announced its decision on Thursday, per <\/span>The New York Times<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling,\u201d a company spokeswoman told the outlet, noting that authors are required to disclose any use of AI for writing before submitting their work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShy Girl\u201d was slated to be released later this spring. Ballard responded to the accusations via email, denying the allegations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis controversy has changed my life in many ways, and my mental health is at an all-time low, and my name is ruined for something I didn\u2019t even personally do,\u201d she told the NYT.<\/p>\n The book has sold about 1,800 copies in the U.K. so far. As of Thursday, it was removed from Amazon and the Hachette website.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the Goodreads description, the novel is about a girl who decides to live as a man\u2019s pet. Ballard initially self-published the book in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLonely, broke and depressed with a serious case of OCD, Gia finds herself at a crossroads when financial troubles lead her to Nathan, a mysterious and affluent man she encounters on a sugar dating website. Desperate for a solution, Gia is intrigued by Nathan\u2019s unconventional offer: in exchange for living as his devoted pet, all of her debts will be erased. But the longer Gia is in captivity, the more animalistic she becomes,\u201d the description says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While AI-generated writing isn\u2019t always easy to recognize, many readers have begun to notice certain patterns and call it out. \u201cShy Girl\u201d was no exception, as many reviewers noticed aspects that they said indicate AI did the writing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am quite certain that this was written by ChatGPT,\u201d one reviewer who gave the book one star wrote. \u201cAs an editor, I\u2019ve read a few specifically ChatGPT written books, and this has not only all the hallmarks, but some specific repeated phrases that I\u2019ve read in other ChatGPT works \u2026 If it\u2019s not AI, and I\u2019m truly quite sure that it is, then this author needs to be ruthlessly edited. Every noun is preceded by a flaccid adjective, every action is followed by a repetitive, boring simile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Two months ago, YouTube personality Frankie\u2019s Shelf released a <\/span>video<\/span><\/a> on the book called \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure this book is AI slop,\u201d which took a deep dive into the allegations. It received more than one million views and 44,000 likes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This move comes as the controversy over the use of AI across multiple industries, including entertainment and Hollywood, remains a hot topic of debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n