ChatGPT has begun refusing requests to write in the style of named authors, marking a notable change in how OpenAI’s chatbot handles imitation prompts. As reported by Ars Technica, the system now steers users toward describing literary traits rather than directly invoking a writer’s style.

The Media Copilot was able to replicate the result on July 28. After asking ChatGPT to write a short story in the voice of Ernest Hemingway, the chatbot replied, “I can’t write in the exact style of a specific author or closely imitate a copyrighted work’s voice. I can, however, write an original passage that draws on some broad characteristics often associated with Ernest Hemingway—plain language, understated emotion, concrete observation, and spare dialogue—without closely imitating his distinctive expression.”

The change is less about the output than the prompt. Requests that explicitly name an author may now be refused, but prompts describing the same stylistic traits—such as minimalist prose, clipped dialogue or a gothic mood—can still generate comparable writing without invoking a specific writer.

The apparent shift comes as OpenAI continues to face multiple copyright lawsuits over its AI models and outputs. While those cases primarily concern training data rather than stylistic imitation, they have intensified scrutiny over how AI systems reproduce or emulate copyrighted creative works, prompting companies to adopt more cautious safeguards around requests that closely mimic identifiable authors.

Other chatbot makers have drawn the line differently. Ars Technica cites a No Latency study that found Google’s Gemini complied consistently with author-imitation requests, while Perplexity refused and redirected them. Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft Copilot fell between those positions, complying while adding qualifications. The uneven treatment means a refusal in one product does not prevent a writer or editor from trying the same prompt elsewhere.

For newsrooms and publishers, ChatGPT’s new author-style restrictions underscore the need for AI policies that govern editorial practices rather than any single technology provider. Internal guidelines should define whether staff may request imitation of living authors, deceased writers, competing publications or an organization’s own house style, while requiring disclosure and human review before AI-generated text is incorporated into published work.

OpenAI has not, based on the material cited here, announced a formal written-text policy that matches the chatbot’s current behavior. Until it does, publishers should expect the boundary to be defined largely by the product itself: prompts that explicitly name authors may be declined, while requests describing the same stylistic qualities in broader terms can still generate a response.

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The Associated Press will let its journalists use AI to draft headlines, summarize documents and handle transcription and translation, according to updated newsroom standards the wire service released this week. What it won’t do is hand over the parts of the job that carry legal and reputational weight.

The guidance draws a firm line: AI can assist with specific tasks, but reporting, sourcing, editorial judgment and verification remain the responsibility of human staff. Every AI-generated output must be reviewed and edited by an AP journalist before anything reaches readers.

The approved uses of AI are limited to a narrow set of practical tasks. AI can support early-stage research and document summarization, help with transcription and translation, suggest headlines, story summaries and shot lists, and clean up grammar, spelling and search optimization. AP kept one prohibition intact — generative AI cannot be used to create, alter or enhance news photography.

The updated standards underscore AP’s hard line on image authenticity as AI-generated visuals become more widespread. The news organization has long classified photo manipulation as a fireable offense, and the new guidance applies the same standard to AI-generated imagery.

The update also expands the guidance in several areas. It establishes newsroom standards for verifying and reporting on AI-generated and manipulated content, requiring journalists to clearly identify and contextualize such material when it appears in AP coverage. It also introduces disclosure requirements when generative AI materially contributes to published work. Beyond the newsroom, the policy adds guidance for AI coding assistants used in software development, reflecting the technology’s growing role across the organization.

The disclosure requirement may prove to be the policy’s biggest test. While AP requires disclosure when generative AI materially contributes to published content, it does not specify what qualifies as a “material” role, leaving room for editorial judgment.

AP’s approach offers a benchmark for other publishers developing AI policies. The standards permit AI to assist with newsroom workflows while reserving editorial judgment for journalists.

The updated standards are likely to be closely watched by other news organizations refining their own AI policies. The organization treats AI as workflow assistance under human review, not as a byline replacement, and it pairs that with disclosure and content-labeling rules. These guidelines also land as regulators and labor groups push for formal rules, including the New York AI transparency effort backed by major unions that would require newsrooms to disclose AI use.

As more publishers move from experimenting with AI to formalizing newsroom rules, AP’s updated standards offer one of the clearest examples yet of where a major news organization is drawing the line: AI can assist the reporting process, but accountability for what gets published remains with journalists.

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A new coalition of more than 500 Hollywood professionals launched Monday to push back against unregulated AI adoption in the entertainment industry. The Creators Coalition on AI brings together Oscar winners, A-list talent, and below-the-line workers to establish shared standards for AI use in creative industries.

The group announced four core demands: transparency and compensation for content used in AI training, job protection plans, guardrails against deepfakes and misuse, and safeguards for human creativity in the production process.

“This is not a full rejection of AI,” the coalition wrote in its launch statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We believe humanity is creative enough to design a system that allows for the tech and creative industries to coordinate, collaborate and flourish.”

Founding members include Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang of Everything Everywhere All at Once, actors Natasha Lyonne and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and former Academy president Janet Yang. More than 500 signatories joined, including Cate Blanchett, Aaron Sorkin, Rian Johnson, and Kristen Stewart.

The timing matters. The coalition accelerated its launch after Disney announced a $1 billion investment in OpenAI last week, a deal that blindsided many in the industry. “We weren’t planning to announce this soon,” Kwan told THR. “But when we saw the vacuum of leadership in our industry, we felt the need to step up.”

The group held meetings with representatives from the Writers Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild, SAG-AFTRA, and Teamsters in November to discuss alignment on AI principles. “Everybody seemed to be much more strongly in agreement than we even anticipated,” Yang said.

Why it matters for newsrooms: The coalition offers a model for cross-guild coordination that media organizations could replicate. Its emphasis on transparency, consent, and compensation for training data directly addresses concerns facing news publishers as AI companies scrape their content without permission or payment.

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