{"slug": "anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai", "title": "Anthropic just rolled out a tool that'll decimate some people's dreams of writing AI novels undetected", "summary": "Anthropic rolled out an imperceptible watermark for AI-generated text in its Claude models, effective August 2, as part of its commitments under the European Union AI Act. The watermark, which persists through copying and some editing, aims to increase transparency and could help publishers and schools detect AI-written content, though heavy editing or translation can make it undetectable. Anthropic is the second major lab to introduce text watermarking, following Google DeepMind's SynthID in 2024.", "body_md": "It's going to get a lot harder to let Claude be a ghostwriter for everything from novels to homework.\n\nOn Monday, Anthropic said [new Claude models](https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-says-claude-models-went-rogue-hacked-3-companies-testing-2026-7) will embed an \"imperceptible watermark\" directly into AI-generated text. The watermark doesn't change the text's meaning or readability, but travels with it when copied and pasted and \"may persist through some editing,\" the AI lab said.\n\nA watermark is a faint pattern or text embedded into photos or digital documents to help prove ownership and stop people from copying or stealing a piece of work.\n\nThe move is part of Anthropic's commitments toward more transparency under the European Union AI Act. Claude models launched on or after August 2 will support marking from launch, and Anthropic says it's working on adding the function to older models. The markings apply to content produced by Claude worldwide, including when Claude is accessed through cloud providers. Anthropic said it also plans to provide third parties with tools to detect them.\n\nAI watermarking could be a turning point for the publishing industry, which has been[ grappling with AI-generated content](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-written-books-might-coming-to-your-barnes-and-noble-2026-5).\n\nLast month, a [book agent pulled support](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-use-ai-ghostwriter-earn-6-figures-2026-3) for the hot crime novel \"Call Me, I'll Hide the Body\" after concerns were raised about the author possibly using AI. Fourteen publishers bid for the book's publishing rights, and a deal was closed before the agent apologized. The writer, Jerry Falade, denied using AI to write the book.\n\nEarlier this year, Hachette pulled Mia Ballard's horror novel \"Shy Girl\" after allegations of AI-generated writing. Ballard told The New York Times she hadn't used AI to write it, adding that a freelance editor had introduced AI-generated material without her direct knowledge.\n\nClaude's new watermark could give publishers, schools, and universities another way to investigate such cases and make it harder for people to pass off [AI-generated writing](https://www.businessinsider.com/author-ai-write-books-backlash-tim-boucher-2024-9) as their own.\n\nStill, there are loopholes. Anthropic said that heavy editing, paraphrasing, translating, or mixing Claude's output with other writing can make its watermark undetectable. Plus, finding a watermark doesn't prove Claude originally authored something, since even proofreading or translating with its AI can leave a mark.\n\nAnthropic is the second major lab to introduce text watermarking.\n\nIn 2024, Google DeepMind announced it was watermarking text and videos generated in the Gemini app and web experience using its SynthID technology. It had released an image version of the feature in 2023.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai", "canonical_source": "https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-watermarking-feature-stops-undetected-ai-generated-writing-2026-8", "published_at": "2026-08-11 04:09:04+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-11 04:38:05.041087+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-tools", "generative-ai"], "entities": ["Anthropic", "Claude", "European Union AI Act", "Google DeepMind", "SynthID", "Hachette", "Jerry Falade", "Mia Ballard"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-just-rolled-out-a-tool-that-ll-decimate-some-people-s-dreams-of-ai.jsonld"}}