Vellum has no AI features of its own. Vellum's website lists no AI feature, and its privacy policy says "Vellum never transmits the contents of any of your books." The one AI link is Apple's: Vellum supports Apple Intelligence Writing Tools on the Mac, and they are "disabled by default". You turn them on yourself in Text Editor Settings.
Every fact here comes from Vellum's own pages (vellum.pub, its privacy policy, Vellum Help and the Vellum Blog), read on 2026-10-20. Vellum is a Mac book-formatting app made by 180g.
Does Vellum have built-in AI features?
Vellum has no built-in generative AI. Its feature list on vellum.pub covers styles, store-specific ebooks, print layout, box sets and previews, and mentions no AI. Vellum Help describes the Text Editor's tools as spelling and grammar correction, smart quotes, find and replace, dictation and text-to-speech. None of these is described as AI.
Vellum is a formatter. It turns a finished manuscript into ebook and print files, and it has no drafting assistant to switch on.
What are Apple Intelligence Writing Tools in Vellum?
Apple Intelligence Writing Tools are a macOS feature, not a Vellum feature. Apple's Mac User Guide describes tools to rewrite selected text in a chosen tone, proofread and summarise. They are "available in most places you write, including third-party apps and websites".
Vellum's privacy policy states its position in two sentences: "As a native Mac App, Vellum can make use of the Writing Tools included with Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence Writing Tools are disabled by default, but can be enabled in Text Editor Settings."
Vellum turned them off on purpose. When Apple released macOS 15.1 in October 2024, the Vellum Blog wrote: "We've also disabled Apple's Writing Tools by default in the latest update to Vellum, so you won't see these features unless you want to use them." To use them you need a Mac that supports Apple Intelligence, Apple Intelligence set up in System Settings, and Writing Tools switched on in Vellum's Text Editor Settings.
Does Vellum send my book anywhere or use it to train AI?
Vellum itself does not send your book anywhere. Its privacy policy says "No identifying information is sent, and Vellum never transmits the contents of any of your books." Analytics exclude "any content from the books you create with Vellum."
Apple's Writing Tools are the exception, and only if you turn them on. Vellum's privacy policy says "the text you select may be sent to Apple's Private Cloud Compute system for analysis." On training, Vellum's blog answers "According to Apple, no", and quotes Apple's assurance that "Your data is only used for your requests" and "Your data is never stored or made accessible to anyone."
Do I have to tell KDP I used AI if I format in Vellum?
Formatting a book in Vellum is not AI use. Vellum's blog addresses the narrower case of Apple's Proofread tool: "You do not need to inform them if you've used tools like Proofread to edit or refine content you've created."
That matches Amazon's own rule. KDP's Content Guidelines define AI-generated content as "text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool" and require you to disclose it. Content you wrote and then used AI tools to "edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve" is AI-assisted, and "You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content." Text generated by Writing Tools rather than corrected by them falls on the AI-generated side of that line.
What other book software has no AI?
Several writing and formatting apps list no AI, and four vendors (Plottr, Novlr, Ellipsus and Penpoint) reject it in writing. Which apps build AI in is set out vendor by vendor in novel writing software without AI. Vellum's price and tiers are in how much Vellum costs, and the Mac and Windows options that replace it are in Vellum alternatives and Vellum alternatives for Windows.
Deckle is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. Deckle has no generative AI anywhere in the app, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Like Vellum, it builds store-specific ebooks: its EPUB export offers Generic, Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo targets. The Kindle target writes an EPUB for KDP to convert, not a KPF file.
One EPUB for every store, or one for each
The full comparison is in Vellum vs Deckle. To try it, click Take Deckle for a Spin on the screen Deckle opens to. There is no card, no account and no time limit. It opens a sample novel with every screen open to explore, and you can restyle it and export real EPUB, PDF and DOCX files. New writing is capped at about 500 words, and new documents and imports are blocked.
FAQ
Does Vellum use AI?
Vellum has no AI features of its own. It supports Apple Intelligence Writing Tools, which are off by default and only work if you enable them.
Is Vellum AI-free?
Vellum's own features include no AI. The only AI path is Apple's Writing Tools, a macOS feature you have to switch on in Vellum's Text Editor Settings.
Does Vellum upload my manuscript?
No. Vellum's privacy policy says it "never transmits the contents of any of your books". Text you send to Apple's Writing Tools is handled by Apple.
Does Vellum train AI on my book?
Vellum doesn't transmit book contents, so it has nothing to train on. For Apple's Writing Tools, Vellum quotes Apple's statement that your data is never stored.
How do I turn off AI in Vellum?
There is nothing to turn off by default. Vellum ships with Apple's Writing Tools disabled.
Do I need to disclose AI to KDP if I used Vellum?
Not for formatting. KDP requires disclosure of AI-generated content only, not AI-assisted editing.
Sources
All retrieved 2026-10-20.
- Vellum, 180g (feature list, no AI feature mentioned)
- Vellum Privacy, 180g (Apple Intelligence section, "never transmits the contents of any of your books"; no date shown on the page)
- FAQ: Apple Intelligence Writing Tools, Vellum Blog, October 30, 2024 (disabled by default, training answer, KDP answer)
- The Text Editor, Vellum Help (editing tools)
- Use Writing Tools on Mac, Apple Mac User Guide (what Writing Tools do)
- Content Guidelines, Amazon KDP Help (AI-generated vs AI-assisted, disclosure)
Vellum is a registered trademark of 180g. Apple Intelligence is a trademark of Apple. Kindle and KDP are trademarks of Amazon. Scrivener is a trademark of Literature & Latte. Deckle is not affiliated with or endorsed by any product named here.