Grammarly has disabled its controversial Expert Review feature after facing backlash over using famous writers' names without permission. The writing assistant tool launched in August, offering AI-generated feedback that appeared to come from notable authors and academics, including both living and deceased figures. The company claimed the recreations were based on 'publicly available information' from third-party LLMs.

Many living writers expressed anger upon discovering their names were being used without consent. Grammarly initially offered an opt-out option for affected authors, but the company has now completely disabled the feature. Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra announced the decision in a LinkedIn post, stating the company would reassess the tool while it's offline.

The feature was designed to help users discover 'influential perspectives' relevant to their work, according to Mehrotra. However, the lack of permission from living authors and the use of deceased writers' names without consent proved too controversial. This marks another misstep for Grammarly as it navigates AI integration in its writing tools.