Grammarly Suspends AI Feature Over Writer Impersonation Concerns
Grammarly has suspended its AI-powered Expert Review feature, which generated writing feedback attributed to real authors and academics without their permission. The move follows a class action lawsuit filed by living writers alleging unauthorized use of their identities. Superhuman, Grammarly’s parent company, says it will evaluate the feature amid ongoing legal proceedings.
Grammarly has announced the suspension of its Expert Review feature, an AI-powered tool that generated writing feedback by impersonating real writers and academics. The decision was made public on March 11, 2026, by Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra, who indicated that the company will reassess the feature’s future.
The move comes in response to a class action lawsuit brought by living writers who discovered their names and reputations were used without consent. The Expert Review feature, introduced in August 2025, aimed to offer users writing suggestions purportedly from well-known authors and academics. However, the tool used publicly available information from large language models (LLMs) developed by third parties, attributing generated feedback to specific, identifiable individuals.
LLMs, or large language models, are advanced forms of artificial intelligence capable of generating human-like text based on vast datasets, often scraped from public sources. The attribution of AI-generated feedback to real, living experts without their knowledge raises significant concerns about consent and intellectual property rights.
Writers whose names appeared as sources for AI-generated feedback expressed strong objections once they became aware of the practice. According to the lawsuit, Grammarly did not seek permission from any of the individuals whose identities the system used. Superhuman included a disclaimer stating that expert attributions were ‘for informational purposes only’ and did not indicate any actual affiliation or endorsement by the individuals mentioned.
Initially, Superhuman responded by offering an opt-out mechanism, allowing those named to request removal from the platform. However, with legal pressure mounting and criticism from the writing community intensifying, the company has now paused the feature entirely.
In a post on LinkedIn, Mehrotra defended the initial intentions behind the feature, highlighting its goal to “provide meaningful ways for experts to build deeper relationships with their fans.” Nonetheless, he acknowledged the concerns raised and confirmed that Superhuman would take time to reconsider how such technology is deployed.
The ongoing legal case against Superhuman underscores the broader ethical issues surrounding AI-generated content and the use of public personas. The incident has sparked renewed debate over AI regulation and responsible AI development, particularly as it relates to the rights of individuals whose likeness or intellectual contributions are leveraged by new technologies.
The class action lawsuit remains pending. Superhuman, which owns Grammarly, says it will continue to evaluate the future of Expert Review as the legal proceedings unfold.
Source: dataconomy.com
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