AI Reading Companion Checklist: 18 Questions to Ask Before You Use One

What should you check before using an AI reading companion?

Check six things: how the tool finds your place and whether it locks its answers to it, how you can catch its mistakes, whether it covers your book and format, what it costs per book or per month, what its privacy label lists, and where it stands on authors and age. The 18 questions below cover all six and fit on one printed page.

Checked 4 November 2026 · The Companion Desk · Desk review

1. Place and spoilers

01
Does it ask where you are (page photo, page number, ebook position, audiobook phrase, chapter) before it answers?
02
Does the maker say it stops at your page or position, or only at a chapter, or not at all?
03
Is there a whole-book or "spoilers on" option, and is it off by default?
04
Can you see and correct where it thinks you are?

Background: How page-locked recaps work.

2. Accuracy

05
Does the maker say its AI can make mistakes, and does it offer a way to report them?
06
Can you ask where in the book something happened, so you can check it?
07
Are AI-written answers and AI participants clearly labelled?

Background: How to check an AI recap.

3. Books and formats

08
Does it cover your exact title, or only "supported titles"? Can you request one?
09
Does it work with the format you read: print, ebook, audiobook, or only books inside its own store?
10
Does it run on your device and operating system version?

4. Price

11
Is it free, per book, or a subscription? What happens when a trial or free credit ends?
12
If it charges per book, does one purchase cover the whole book or each session?

5. Privacy

13
What does its App Store privacy label list under "Data used to track you"?
14
What does it collect to find your place (photos, text you paste, listening position)?

Background: Reading app privacy labels.

6. Authors and age

15
Does it need you to own or borrow the book, or does it replace reading it?
16
Does the maker say where its knowledge of the book comes from, and whether authors can opt in or out?
17
What is its App Store age rating, and is the chat with an AI, with people or both?
18
Does it point you to bookstores or libraries for the book itself?

Background: Are AI reading companions fair to authors? and AI character chat and teen readers.

A worked example: choosing for one reader

Priya reads fantasy series, mostly paperbacks from the library, and listens to audiobooks on her commute through Libby. She uses an iPhone. She is halfway through book three of a long series and has forgotten half the cast.

1. Place and spoilers. Her copies are print and a library audiobook, so in-store tools (Kindle, Google Play Books, Spotify) cannot see her place. She needs a tool that works from her own copy.
2. Accuracy. Any AI recap can be wrong. She will check new names against the book.
3. Books and formats. She checks whether her series is on the supported list of a companion such as Magic Bookmark, which accepts a page photo or the last phrase she heard.
4. Price. Per-book pricing means one credit for book three, with the first book free; no subscription.
5. Privacy. She reads the App Store privacy label before signing up.
6. Authors and age. She reads the maker's page for authors to see how it treats books it covers.

If her series is not supported, her fallback is a general chatbot with the safer prompt from our guide, or Thus Far for chapter-locked discussion.

The same checklist for in-store tools

If you read inside one store's app, the checklist is shorter:

Question	Kindle	Google Play Books	Spotify
Is my book covered?	Look for Story So Far or Ask this Book in the book's menu	Look for the Tools badge on the book's Play Store page	Look for the Recap button on the audiobook's page
Is it locked to my place?	Yes by default; Ask this Book has a whole-book option	Google says answers only use text up to your position	Recaps cover only what you have heard
Extra cost?	None	None	None published
Where?	Kindle devices and Kindle iOS app, US	Android, iOS, web	iOS and Android

Walk away, or at least slow down, if you see any of these:

01
No statement about spoilers. If a tool that recaps novels never says how it limits answers to your place, assume it does not.
02
No list of supported books. A companion that only works on some titles should let you check yours before you pay.
03
A subscription with no way to try it. Per-book pricing, a free first book or a free trial lets you test it on one book first.
04
A privacy label you do not understand. Read it before you upload photos of pages or your own files; our privacy label table explains the categories.
05
Claims of perfect accuracy. Every serious maker we cover says its AI can make mistakes. One that promises otherwise is telling you less than the others.
06
No way to report a wrong answer. Feedback buttons, like the thumbs up and down in Google Play Books, show the maker expects errors and wants to fix them.

How do the apps we cover answer the first three questions?

App	Asks your place?	Lock	Whole-book option
Fable	Progress you log; chapter rooms in clubs	Chapter lock on discussion	Not applicable
General chatbots	Only if you type it	None	Not applicable: no lock to remove
Kindle Ask this Book	Uses your Kindle position	Position lock by default	Yes, you can choose the entire book
Magic Bookmark	Page photo, page number or audiobook phrase	Page lock	None described
Thus Far	Photo, screenshot, barcode or chapter tap	Chapter lock on posts	Not applicable

The rest of the answers are in the comparison table.

Questions

What is the most important thing to check in an AI reading companion?

Whether it locks its answers to your place in the software, or only promises to. A page or position lock enforced by the app is stricter than an instruction to a chatbot.

How do I know if an app covers my book?

Look for a supported-titles list or search inside the app before paying. Tools that work on every book usually rely on general knowledge rather than a page lock.

Should I worry about privacy with reading apps?

Read the App Store privacy label, especially the data used to track you section. Some reading companions list tracking identifiers, and all of them list data linked to you.

Can I print this checklist?

Yes. The page prints on one sheet; the table at the end shows how the apps we cover answer the first three questions.

Do I need a separate app if I read on Kindle or Google Play Books?

Not for recaps of ebooks you read in those apps: both have built-in recaps and questions. A separate companion helps when you read in print, listen outside Spotify, or mix formats.

011. Place and spoilers

022. Accuracy

033. Books and formats

044. Price

055. Privacy

066. Authors and age

07A worked example: choosing for one reader

08The same checklist for in-store tools

09Red flags before you sign up

10How do the apps we cover answer the first three questions?