Fan Fiction Is the #4 AI Use Case in 2026, Here’s What It Reveals
If you think people mainly use AI to summarize documents, write emails, and become more productive, the data says otherwise. Fan fiction is now the fourth most common use of AI, at least according to a new Harvard Business Review analysis of 12,637 real-world AI use cases. It ranked above creative writing, which came in at #19, as well as more practical uses like homework, shopping, and business advice.
That may sound surprising if you think of AI mainly as a tool for getting more work done. But for anyone raised on Wattpad, Tumblr, or Archive of Our Own, it makes perfect sense. Give people a tool that can generate nearly any story on demand, and naturally, they'll want to see their favorite characters fall in love.
AI Isn't Always About Productivity
Most conversations about AI focus on productivity, but fan fiction's rise to #4 points to another side of the technology.
We can see this in the popularity of roleplay chatbots like Character.AI, where users interact with fictional personas, and in the rise of erotic story generators that turn private fantasies into personalized stories. People are turning to AI to revisit beloved fictional worlds, imagine relationships that never became canon, and rewrite unsatisfying endings.
This shows that people don't just want to work with AI; they're also using it for emotional escapism.
The "AI Slop" Debate Misses How People Use Stories in Private
The rise of AI writing has led to many concerns about “slop”, a term fordull, repetitive content produced quickly and shared with little thought or purpose.
Much of that backlash focused on romance author Coral Hart, who says she published 216 AI-assisted novels under 21 pen names and earned six figures from them. The New York Times reported on her methods in "She Wrote 216 Romance Novels in Nine Months. All of Them Were AI-Assisted." While working on the feature, the Times also reached out to Smitten for our perspective.
For critics, the scale of Hart's output made her a symbol of AI being used to mass-produce fiction for profit.
This Harvard Business Review article raises a related concern: if AI generates both the idea and the finished work, we may bypass the very process through which an original idea takes shape.
These concerns matter when AI-generated books are produced at scale and sold alongside work that human authors spent months or years creating. But that commercial debate does not fully explain how people use AI-generated stories in private.
There is a difference between generating hundreds of novels to fill online storefronts and creating one oddly specific fanfic story for yourself at 1:00 in the morning. One is designed to attract buyers. The other may never be published, sold, or shown to anyone.
A private story does not need to attract thousands of readers or prove that its creator is a talented writer. Sometimes it simply exists to entertain one person or fulfill a highly specific fantasy.
What Three Popular AI Uses Reveal About Our Desire for Personalization
The rankings become even more interesting when we look beyond fan fiction. Creative writing ranks #19, while understanding sex ranks #46 among the personal and emotional reasons people turn to AI.
These are distinct use cases, but they reveal the shared expectation: people do not want generic answers or one-size-fits-all stories. They want AI to respond to their specific interests, questions, and desires.
Fan fiction offers the first layer of personalization. It begins with characters and relationships people already care about. AI-assisted creative writing takes that further by letting readers control the story—from which characters get together to how their relationship unfolds.
Personalization becomes even more meaningful when applied to sex. Someone might confide in AI to better understand their sexual language or unique “desire code”—the particular turn-ons, recurring fantasies, emotional needs, and relationship dynamics that shape what they find exciting.
This can be especially useful when partners experience desire differently. One person may want playfulness and spontaneity, while the other needs emotional connection or a particular dynamic to feel interested. Discussing those differences directly can feel awkward, vulnerable, or overly serious.
A personalized erotic story makes those differences more concrete. Instead of trying to explain an abstract fantasy, someone can watch it unfold through fictional characters and notice their reaction: This part excites me. That part does not. I like the power dynamic, but I would want the scene to feel more tender. The story gives both partners something specific to respond to, turning a difficult conversation into a form of shared exploration.
We saw this when a sex expert tried Smitten’s AI erotic story generator with her boyfriend. Their custom AI erotic story gave them a new way to talk about intimacy. Dr. Jessica O’Reilly, a doctor of human sexology, describes the potential this way: “An AI tool that creates a personalized erotic story based on your interests or fantasies may add another layer of novelty, spark laughter, curiosity, and conversations about desire, boundaries, and fantasy.”
The common appeal that connects these three AI use cases is specificity—my characters, my story, my desires.
From AO3 and Wattpad to a Fanfic Story Made for You
AO3 and Wattpad taught a generation of fanfic girls to get very specific about what they want: the exact ship, the niche trope, the relationship dynamic, and the scene canon would never give them.
The good news is, there's already a fanfic generator for all the A03 and Wattpad fans out there.
Smitten is an AI smut fanfic generator that lets you take control of the story. Choose the characters, decide how their relationship unfolds, add the tropes and fantasies you want, and guide the story in a direction that feels made for you.
With AI erotica, there's no need to search through hundreds of fanfic stories or hope someone else shares your very specific "what if?"
If the smut fanfic in your head does not exist yet, why not create it yourself?