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AI Enrich: Teaching Old Books New Tricks

You already have the photos. Now let the AI look at what you've got and fill in what you missed.

4 min

You already have the photos. You already have the book. Now let the AI look at what you've got and fill in what you missed.


What It Does

AI Enrich takes the photographs you've already uploaded to a book and runs them through the same AI vision model used by AI Book Scanning — but instead of creating a new record, it compares the AI's findings with your existing data and shows you the differences.

Think of it as a second opinion from a very attentive colleague who just examined your book's photos for the first time.


How It Differs from AI Scanning

AI Scanning AI Enrich
Starting point No book exists yet Book already in your library
Photos Uploaded during scan Already attached to the book
Result New draft record Diff panel showing new/changed fields
You decide What to edit before saving Which fields to accept, field by field

AI Scanning creates. AI Enrich improves.


The One Requirement

Your book must have at least one uploaded photo. Labels help the AI understand context, but they are hints only.

When you click AI Enrich, choose 1-3 photos for the AI to read. Title pages and colophons are still the strongest sources, but you can also select dust jackets, signatures, provenance marks, limitation statements, or condition details.


Where to Find It

Open any book's Edit page. The AI Enrich button appears at the top of the form, next to the regular Enrich button. It's available to users whose tier has AI Scanning enabled and whose book has uploaded images.


The Enrich Diff Panel

After the AI analyzes your photos, the familiar Enrich panel opens — the same one used for library catalog enrichment. Each field appears as a row with:

  • NEW — the AI found a value for a field you left blank. Green badge. Usually a good sign.
  • DIFFERENT — the AI disagrees with what you have. Orange badge. Worth reviewing.
  • Same — you and the AI agree. Checkmark. Nothing to do.

Check the boxes next to the fields you want to update, then click Apply. The values flow into your form. Save normally.


What It Costs

AI Enrich uses one AI credit per selected photo, with a maximum of 3 photos per run. Book Scan is different: it uses one credit per scan, whether that scan includes one photo or three.

If you're running low, you'll see a warning after the enrichment completes. At zero credits, the button disables itself. Purchase more in Settings → Billing.


When to Use It

After uploading better photos. You added a book months ago with a quick cover shot. Now you've photographed the title page and colophon properly. AI Enrich can extract everything the new photos reveal.

After labeling photos. You had the images all along but never labeled them. Labels help, but AI Enrich can still read selected unlabeled photos.

When your record feels thin. You imported from a spreadsheet and have title, author, and year — but nothing about binding, format, paper, or condition. If you've since uploaded photos, AI Enrich can fill the gaps the import missed.

Not when: the book has no photos. The AI reads images, not minds.


Who Can Use It

Same as AI Scanning: any tier with the AI Scanning feature enabled and at least one available AI credit. Collector users can use trial or purchased credits when AI Scanning is enabled for the free tier. If you can scan, you can enrich.


See also: AI Book Scanning · AI Credits · Enrich Mode · Photographing Your Books