Amazon may have recently upset consumers by ending software support for several older Kindle models, which could limit the basic functionality of these e-readers, but the company also has some good news for its Kindle users. Amazon has rolled out a new feature that users who read multiple books at once might appreciate. Called Story So Far, and announced at the end of September 2025, the feature allows users to catch up on what they have already read in a book after a long break. The feature uses AI to generate limited summaries based on the user’s progress with a title and can be useful in improving the reading experience.
In addition to Story So Far, supported Kindle models also offer a Summaries feature that lets users track events that happened in previous books in a series, as well as an Ask This Book feature that lets readers ask questions about a book. The Summaries feature rolled out to US-based users in April 2025 for thousands of Kindle titles. The Ask This Book feature was revealed alongside Story So Far in September 2025, and Ask This Book rolled out to the Kindle iOS app in December 2025.
Their usefulness aside, these AI features are also somewhat controversial. The Authors Guild raised concerns about the Ask This Book feature in late December 2025, noting that there was no way for publishers and authors to opt-in or opt-out. Amazon explained to the Guild that the Ask This Book feature is not used to train the AI model or curate content. Amazon also said it uses a dedicated AI model for this feature. However, the Guild also stated that the new Ask This Book feature is not licensed and does not bring new revenue to authors.
How to use recaps, story so far, and Ask This Book
The Summaries feature is available for purchased and borrowed titles, according to Amazon. To find this feature, you will need a Kindle reader updated to the latest version of the operating system or the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad. Users will need to look for the Show Summaries button to use the summary feature when reading a book series. The button is in the three-dot menu of a book series group on Kindle devices. It may also appear in the Kindle Library. If you read Kindle books on iPhone and iPad, you’ll find the button by long-pressing the group of books that make up a series.
The Story So Far feature is part of the Recaps feature, allowing users to get recaps of the current story right down to the page they are on. Pressing and holding the title of a book in the Kindle Library will display a Read the recap button, if the title supports the functionality. There you can select the Story so far button. Amazon also explains that the three-dot menu available in the book will also include a Story so far option.
Finally, users can highlight a passage in a book and use the Ask This Book feature to get information about a plot point, a character, or the book as a whole. Amazon describes this feature as a reading assistant available directly in the book you are reading. Ask This Book is only available on iOS through the Kindle app, but Amazon plans to expand it to Kindle readers and Android devices. That said, Amazon has rolled out these AI features only in the United States, so international readers won’t be able to use them.
Do Kindle alternatives offer similar AI reading features?
You don’t need to buy a new Kindle to take advantage of these reading support tools made available by Amazon. Software update 5.19.4.0.1 (or later) should enable functionality for Kindle e-readers in the United States. If you are using the Kindle iOS app on iPhone or iPad, you need to update it to the latest version. Users who don’t own Amazon e-readers, or consumers who recently stopped using Kindle e-readers, can take advantage of similar AI-powered features on competing platforms.
For example, Google launched a new Book Insights feature for the Google Play Books app in early June, which now offers a “Catch Me” feature similar to Story So Far, as well as support for asking questions about the story and characters. Spotify launched a beta version of Audiobook Recaps in November 2025 that allows listeners to follow the story so far.
Finally, Kobo announced plans to launch an AI-powered recap feature for its Kobo app. Unlike Amazon, Kobo provided few additional details on how the feature will work, saying that the AI will not use the summary data to train an AI model and that the short 150-word summaries will not be saved permanently. Additionally, recaps will only be visible to the reader. Kobo also noted that all AI recap and summary features will come with opt-out options for authors. Kobo last updated an FAQ document on the topic in April 2026, without providing a release date for these AI-based features.
