GoKawiilMacmillan quietly shut down its 'NOA' AI assistant after lavish launch party
Macmillan Publishers staff say the company threw an elaborate celebration in January 2024 to introduce an AI chatbot called NOA, built by Chaptr and backed by parent company Holtzbrinck. Employees were trained to use NOA for drafting emails, marketing copy, research, and even performance review goals, with assurances the tool wouldn't leak proprietary data to third parties. The tool was reportedly later discontinued.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The episode illustrates how publishers are experimenting with AI tools for everyday editorial and administrative work despite internal unease, including staff who found the assistant's branding and purpose jarring in a literary company. The eventual shutdown of NOA could suggest the tool failed to meet expectations or raised concerns severe enough to abandon it, though the source does not state why it was killed.
- Macmillan staged a workplace-wide celebration to launch an AI assistant named NOA in January 2024.
- Employees used NOA for drafting emails, research, and performance review goals, despite warnings about hallucinations.
- The AI tool was reportedly later discontinued, though the reasons for its removal are not detailed.
Source: wired.com — Adam Morgan, 2026-10-28
Published there as: “Macmillan Staff Say the Publisher Threw a Party for a Workplace AI Assistant That Was Later Killed”
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