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What's Happening
- Macmillan Publishers threw a launch party in January 2024 to introduce a new member of the team named “NOA.”, an internal AI chatbot.
- German software company Chaptr built the tool with funding from Macmillan's parent company, as the developer is “backed” by Holtzbrinck.
- Management encouraged staff to use the closed-loop system for drafting copy, marketing research, and to generate their goals for performance reviews.
- The publisher announced in October 2025 that Chaptr would be sunsetting NOA after employees found the tool unreliable and refused to use it.
Why It Matters
Corporate mandates for AI adoption fail when the tools lack practical utility. Macmillan's rapid deployment and subsequent cancellation of NOA demonstrates the gap between executive enthusiasm and daily workflow realities. Forcing immature chatbots into creative processes alienates staff rather than improving productivity.
The Context
- Human assistants at the publisher found the bot's name, an acronym for No Ordinary Assistant, to be tone-deaf, and many found “offensive” the implication it could replace them.
- Staff received instructions to protect intellectual property and only paste a “percentage” of authors’ manuscripts into the system.
- The chatbot featured settings to adjust NOA’s speaking tone, including options like pessimistic, sarcastic, and regretful.
What They're Saying
- One employee noted the tool failed to gain traction, stating it was terrible, and no one used it.
- Another worker recalled a Chaptr representative telling staff the company understood publishers were dealing with something very important—content, which the employee felt diminished the value of literature.
What to Watch
- Bestselling authors report that AI integration is ruining their relationships with Big Five publishers.
The Bottom Line
Macmillan's failed experiment with NOA highlights the friction of forcing unproven AI tools into established creative workflows.