How Can Schools Detect AI-Generated Writing?

Schools and colleges need to pay greater attention to AI-generated content detection when it comes to checking their student’s work.

With that in mind, how do schools detect AI writing? Let’s take a deep dive into this topic and clear up all this matter once and for all.

Table of Contents

How Is AI-Generated Content Detected?

It’s a common enough question to ask: “Do schools use AI detectors”? And the answer is yes, they do. With the increasing use of the internet for essay research comes a raised awareness of plagiarised work. It’s therefore legit to ask, “Can schools check for ChatGPT in their students’ work?”

An educator in a school might use different software programs to detect the presence of plagiarism. They’ll also use it to identify original content in a submitted essay or other piece of written work.

Students must write quality content that passes AI checks, and teachers will check what they’re doing.

In August 2024, there were over 180 million people across the world using AI detection software. With this comes the knowledge that teachers and students need to up their game when checking work for signs of AI.

What Do Schools Use To Detect AI: 5 Popular AI Content Detectors

Here’s a closer investigation into what services schools use to detect AI-driven content in their work.

1. Smodin

Smodin is a popular AI detector used by schools. It’s a quick and user-friendly way for teachers in school to spot potential plagiarism issues in students’ writing.

It’s perfect for students, who should run their written work through the content tool so they know submissions are plagiarism-free. Smodin is over 90% accurate in checking for AI content.

Smodin’s school AI detector offers a range of account types that are both free and paid. It’s, therefore, easy to make an informed choice about the features to use.

Pros

Has plagiarism detection.
Can spot AI text and human text.
User-friendly and easy to work with.

Cons

May not always catch more sophisticated levels of AI writing.

2. TraceGPT Tool

TraceGPT has become a useful tool in schools and educational establishments, ensuring that the work students submit is original.

A handy feature is the demo tool it offers. Users can try it out to see how effective it is. They also offer downloadable reports so that users can get to know any issues within the text.

Pros

It provides instant results so teachers can quickly determine AI-generated content..
There’s a user-friendly interface.
It’s scalable, so it's good for individual students to use or for whole schools..

Cons

At the moment, there is no language support other than English, so it can’t detect AI content in other languages.
TraceGPT requires a lot of computer power to analyze and produce reports, so it might not be suitable for everyone.
It can flag a lot of false positives.

3. GPTZero

GPTZero is specifically designed for use in schools and the analysis of student writing. It’s a great program for teachers to use if they have concerns about false AI writing reporting. It’s one of the most well-known AI brands out there today, part of the ChatGPT family, and a popular tool for professors to detect AI.

This software has an AI text classifier. It gives teachers a “burstiness” score, so it’s easy to see if a student is producing their own work.

Pros

It was created by OpenAI, so many people are already familiar with it.
Educators can maximize their time on the software with the bulk upload facility..

Cons

There is a higher chance of false positives if the content is heavily edited.
Some users say that details and reports on flagged content can be vague.

4. QuillBot

This tool offers lots of options for checking content, including a specific academic setting. It also features grammar-checking tools. There is a free version of the program that comes with unlimited summarization.

Pros

Simple to use with a user-friendly interface.
Offers checking in different languages such as French and Spanish.

Cons

Users will need to run Microsoft Word or Chrome extensions to get the most out of the tool.

5. Turnitin

Turnitin is already well-known and loved among many academic institutions. It seamlessly integrates with the learning management systems that many schools already have in place.

It started out as a tool primarily used to check for plagiarism. It is now one of the more well-known tools for AI detection. Educators like it as it means you can check for both AI and plagiarism at the same time.

Pros

Built-in plagiarism checker.
Seamlessly integrates with school learning management systems.

Cons

Schools and educators must have a subscription.
No free version.

How Can AI-Generated Text Be Detected Without Tools?

How can schools detect AI writing without the use of tools? There’s a simple answer to this. Whilst AI generators are generally great at picking up duplicate content, they’re not infallible, and sometimes they can be bypassed.

Teachers will get to know how each student writes. This includes their distinct tone of voice or the words and phrases they use in their essays. Once they understand this, it’s easy for them to pick up when a tone is out of kilter.

When writing essays, often students will need to back up any claims they make with facts and figures. Teachers can spot if the sources used aren’t right, or aren’t easy to verify. AI detectors might not always pick this up.

Use the Smodin AI Detector and a Wide Range of Tools for Your Writing Needs

How do schools detect AI-generated writing? There are plenty of tools to use to give you accurate estimates of how much of a text is written by AI and which parts of it are not human text.

So, educational establishments that are looking for top services that do just that should check out Smodin. It offers one of the best AI checkers for students and a lot more tools for teachers.

Use Smodin’s AI Content Detector tool if you work for a school, university, or even company that deals with producing content. You will not be disappointed by the results!