CoversWalkthrough
How to make a book cover with AI
Describe your book and get three complete cover designs, sized to your trim and page count. Pick one and it lands on your canvas, every piece still editable.
In short
Open your cover project, click AI above the canvas and choose Design my cover with AI. Describe the book, pick one of three designs, and a complete cover lands on your canvas, sized to your book and editable piece by piece.
Most AI image tools give you a square picture with the title painted into the pixels. That is not a cover KDP can print: a print cover is one wrap, back, spine and front, and its width depends on your page count. A title baked into an image also can't be fixed when the subtitle changes. Designing with AI here starts from your book's real wrap, so what you get is a cover you can print, and every piece of it stays editable.
It comes with the Creator, Publisher and Studio plans and spends AI credits from your plan's monthly allowance. On Creator, a design built on a pro cover template asks you to upgrade to Publisher before you can use it. Founders' Lifetime doesn't include AI features.
Design your cover#
Open Design my cover with AI
Open your cover project. In the bar above the canvas, click AI and choose Design my cover with AI. The same option sits at the top of the Templates panel.
The window shows a quote for the whole cover before anything runs.
Describe your book
Under What's the book about?, say what the book is in a sentence or two, then type the Book title exactly as it should print. Subtitle (optional), Author name (optional) and Genre are there if you have them.
The sections below, from Visual style to Inspiration, are optional; leave them and the AI decides. Click Get started.
Answer or skip the questions
The wizard asks a few questions about what your description left out. Click an answer, type your own in Or type your own, or click Skip these. Click Continue when you're done.
Check the brief and start
Here's the brief we'll design from shows the description the covers will be designed from. Edit anything that isn't right, then click Design my covers.
The wizard works out three directions and lays out each one on your book's wrap.
Pick a design
Three designs appear, each with its own layout, type and colors. Judge them as covers: which title reads best small, which type suits the genre. Click Use this design on the one you want.
If two are close, Preview the artwork paints that design's picture first. If you then use that design, the same picture comes with it.
Wait for the artwork
The design is on your canvas straight away, and its artwork is painted next. It usually arrives in under a minute and drops into place on its own. Click Done once it has landed.
If the artwork doesn't come through, you aren't charged for it, and the design stays on the canvas without it. Click Retry the artwork, or add your own image.
Reading the brief#
| In the brief | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Visual style | How the artwork is made, for example illustrated or photographic |
| Mood | Lighting, palette and atmosphere: the same scene with a different feeling |
| Cover scene | What the artwork shows: characters, objects, setting, lighting |
| Color direction | The palette, in your words |
| Marketing copy | A tagline and back-cover blurb, printed when you tick Print this copy on the cover |
| Author section | A round headshot and a short bio on the back cover, clear of the barcode |
| Inspiration | Up to three reference images the AI uses as guidance, never copies |
Each section you leave blank is chosen to suit your genre and description.
Change it or start again#
What lands on the canvas is an ordinary cover. Click the title to retype it, drag the artwork, or recolor a shape. Press ⌘Z to take the whole design off.
To try another direction, open Design my cover with AI again. Your earlier runs are listed under the brief: Open shows a run's designs again at no charge, and Use this brief starts a new run from its words.
Before you upload, read AI book cover generator: four tests for KDP for what KDP asks about AI artwork.
Common questions
Is the cover editable after the AI makes it?
Yes. The title, subtitle, author name, artwork, background and shapes land as separate objects you can retype, move, recolor or replace. Nothing is flattened into one picture.
How many credits does a cover cost?
The wizard quotes the whole cover before you start, and each step is charged only as it delivers. Because the cover is priced as one flow, part of the cost comes back as a flow discount when the run finishes.
Do I have to fill in every section of the brief?
No. Only the description and the book title are needed. Every other section is optional, and leaving one blank means the AI chooses for you rather than making a worse cover.
What if I don't like any of the three designs?
Start again with a sharper description, or reopen an earlier run from the list under the brief. Opening a past run costs nothing; starting a new run from its brief is a new charge.
Do I need to tell KDP the cover was made with AI?
KDP asks you to say so when an AI tool created the artwork, even if you edited it afterwards. SmartKDP's print checks remind you before export, but the answer itself goes in your KDP title setup.
Try it on your own book
Open a book in SmartKDP and follow the steps above. It takes about 10 minutes.