Fitness personality Mike Israetel has confirmed that he used generative AI while writing his new book, The Aesthetic Revolution: Embracing Vanity and the Future of Fitness to Unlock Your Healthiest Self, published by Hachette Book Group. The admission came in a post on X on May 21, 2026, after commentator Solomon Nelson released a video alleging that portions of the book showed clear signs of AI generated writing.
In his statement, Israetel wrote, “I 100% used AI to help me smooth over some of the pros for my upcoming book, The Aesthetic Revolution. This was before a whole team of editors from the publishing company further smoothed the pros over. They were made aware of this.”
He added, “I’m stating this now well before the book comes out so that there is no controversy if and when someone detects that it has elements of AI writing styles in it. I will also be using AI in the future unapologetically to improve my work in various ways. All of the structure and ideas and content of the book is 100% my own work.”
Nelson’s response video, released this week, pushes back hard on that final claim. He argues that the assertion of 100 percent original content is contradicted by Israetel’s own admission of AI involvement, and that the comparison Israetel draws between AI and ordinary writing tools like a computer is “reductive and misleading” since a word processor records human expression while generative AI produces expression of its own.
Nelson also raises questions about Hachette’s editorial process. Since Israetel says the publisher’s editorial team knew AI had been used and still “further smoothed the prose over,” they were aware of Israetel’s use of AI.
Additionally, Nelson suggests the finished book still contains errors a competent editing pass should have caught, including a reference to an “incline dumbbell barbell press” and a paragraph that appears twice, on pages 262 and 263.
The controversy has coincided with a rocky reception for the book on Amazon, where it currently holds 34 reviews and a combined rating of 1.8 out of 5 stars. The Aesthetic Revolution is available across multiple formats, including a Kindle edition priced at $14.99, an audiobook available at no cost with a membership trial, a hardcover edition at $25.74, and a paperback at $32.00.
Nelson closes his video by arguing that the dispute goes beyond one author’s choices, calling it a matter of trust between writers, publishers, and readers who expect that a purchased book reflects genuine human authorship. Hachette has not issued a public statement addressing its editorial review process or its awareness of AI use in the manuscript.
Israetel has said he does not intend to stop using AI tools in future projects and maintains that the book’s structure and ideas remain his own work, even as critics continue to scrutinize how much of the finished text was shaped by AI software.
