AI checkers for teachers are the topic of our blog post today!
AI generated content is now everywhere online. The infamous ChatGPT is but the tip of the iceberg. In fact, AI content generation tools have been around for several months before the introduction of ChatGPT.
Like any other technology, when abused or used inappropriately, these AI tools can turn into a devastating technology, harming content creators and promoting a culture of plagiarism, inauthenticity, and amateurism.
If you are an educator or a teacher, you probably are already dealing with the repercussions of these AI tools in your daily work. More and more students are using AI to help them with their learning and we can not stop them from doing that. But we can not accept that they turn in essays and assignments entirely written by AI.
If you are facing this predicament in class, the best way to deal with it is through repurposing your assessment methods to focus more on in-class quizzes, oral presentations, and hands-on projects. Besides reducing the reliance on AI-generated content, these tools also encourage deeper understanding and critical thinking.
There are also a wide range of tools and AI checkers that can help you detect AI-generated content. Please bear in mind that these tools are not perfect and sometimes they miss the mark. You need to use them with prudence.
As a teacher you already know your students and their scholarly abilities and you are a better judge of their work. Trust your instincts and observations when evaluating assignments, and use AI checkers as just one part of a broader strategy. Combining technology with your expertise allows you to better identify inconsistencies and guide your students toward authentic learning.
Best AI Checkers for Teachers
In a post titled “Important Tips on How to Identify AI-generated Content in Student Assignments,” I argued that one of the key ways to detect AI-generated writing is through your own familiarity with both the student’s writing style and AI’s language patterns. By regularly interacting with AI, you can quickly identify formulaic structures, verbosity, or unnatural language. Examples of stylistic elements to pay attention to include the overuse of passive voice, repetition, and generic statements, as well as syntactic and orthographic perfection which often lacks a human touch.
There are several AI checkers out there, I have tested a number of these tools and came up with this list. To test these AI detectors, I create two types of text content: one I have written myself, 100% human written (around 500 words), and the second one I generated it using ChatGPT 4o.
Based on my test results, I ranked these AI checkers in descending order, starting with the best-performing one at the top and proceeding downward.
1. Winston AI
Winston AI claims that it is “the industry leading AI content detector and plagiarism checker software for ChatGPT, GPT4, Google Gemini and more.” I put it to the test to see whether this is true or not. I started with my AI generated sample: I pasted it in and the score was accurate: Winston detected the text as 0% human. Note that I performed the scan without having to log in.
When I tried to run a similar scan for my human-written sample I was prompted to register. It appears that Winston allows only one scan for non-registered users. I opened an account with them for free (no credit card required). The free plan allows you to scan up to 2000 words for free which is more than enough for the purposes of my tests.
I then plugged in the sample tex I have written and got an accurate score. Winston detected that the text is 100% human. It also provided me with statistics about my text including number of words and characters, number of sentences, and reading time. There is also a report feature with more insights but this is only for paid users.
Winston also offers a host of other interesting features including:
- The ability to scan websites URLs
- Upload documents to scan for AI content
- Share scan results with others
- Scan images and photos for AI
- Readability score
- Plagiarism checker
- Text compare tool to compare content between different texts
- Supports various third party integrations including Google Classroom and Zapier
- Available as an extension for Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Opera
Pricing: Winston offers a trail plan that enables you to scan up to 2000 words for free. Once used up you need to upgrade to continue using the service. There are four major premium plans: Essential AI ($18/month), Essential Plagiarism ($19/month), Advanced ($29/month), and Elite ($49/month).
2. Originality
Originality is another powerful AI checker for teachers. It passed my test with flying colours. I started with the AI generated sample and it confidently detected it as 100% AI content:
The same with the text I have written. It identified it with 100% probability score as being human written, which is amazing!
Also, Originality allows you to use its AI checker for free and without having to sign up, however, having an account with them provides you access to more features. Unfortunately, Originality requires credit card on signup.
The following are some of the main features offered by Originality:
- AI detector for major large language models (e.g., ChatGPT, GPT-4o, Gemini Pro, Claude 3.5, Llama 3.1)
- Chrome extension to help you track the writing process of any Google Document
- Check for AI content on any website
- Reliability checker
- Plagiarism checker
- Grammar and fact checker
Pricing: You can use Originality AI checker for free and without registration. Premium plans include; the Pay As You Go plan, the Pro plan costs $12.95, and the Enterprise plan which comes at higher price.
3. Smodin
Smodin offers various AI tools including an AI content detector. Smodin provides you with 5 free weekly uses and you don’t even need to login to use the service. I scanned both of my sample texts and here are the results:
For my AI-generated sample, Smodin was able to detect it as being AI content with a score of 100%.
The same score for my human-written sample. It identified as 100% human written.
Smodin AI content detector easily passed the test. However, compared to the previous AI checkers, Smodin results are basic and do not include much details. That said, here is a quick run-down of some of the main features provided by Smodin:
- The ability to upload documents and screen them for AI content
- A ‘Recreate’ tool to help humanize AI content
- Paragraph rewriter
- Plagiarism checker
- AI Chatbot
- Text summarizer
- AI Grader, and many more
Pricing: Smodin offers five free weekly uses after which you will need to get a subscription to continue using the service. They offer various premium plans the cheapst among them is Essentials which costs 16$/month billed annually.
4. GPTZxero
GPTZero is a powerful AI checker tool out there. I tested it on my two sample texts and it did well. First, I was able to run my scan and get results without having to sign up. However, only registered members can download reports. Registration is free and the GPTZero’s free plan offers 10.000 words per month, enough for you to test the tool and decide whether you want to upgrade or not.
I checked the accuracy of GPTZero using my sample texts. I started with the paragraphs I have written and the results were:
As, you can see it identified it as human generated with a score of 98% which is pretty high. I pasted the AI generated content and the result was 100% AI content.
As I said not as accurate as Originality but 98 is a very high score. Here is a quick run-down of some of the main features of GPTZero:
- Probability score breakdown
- Plagiarism scan
- Supports English, French, and Spanish
- Writing feedback generator
- Ability to upload documents or copy and paste text for scans
- The ability to download and share reports
Pricing: As I mentioned earlier, GPTZero offers a free plan that allows you to scan up to 10k words per month. Paid plans include Essential ($8.33/month), Premium ($12.99/month), and Professional ($24.99/month).
5. Scribbr
Scribbr is another AI checker I tested out using my sample texts and the results are ok. I stated with my own paragraphs and Scribbr accurately identified them as purely human written.
But when it comes to the AI generated sample, Scribbr was able to flag it as AI generated but with a score of 90%. It is still a high score but definitely nothing compared to Originality and GPTZero. Scribbr also identified 10% of my ChatGPT generated text as being human-written, a false negative.
Although not as highly accurate as the previous AI detectors, Scribbr still is a good option to try out in your teaching especially that it is free and does not require any signup. In fact, you can perform unlimited number of AI checks for free with a limit of up to 1200 words per submission.
Other interesting features provided by Scribbr include:
- The ability to detect whether an AI generated text is further refined or altered using an AI tool
- Detect whether a given text is human written and AI refined
- A paraphraser to enhance your writing
- Paragraph level feedback
- Multilingual support
6. Copyleaks
Copyleaks boasts that it is “the most accurate AI detector, trusted by top organizations worldwide and backed by independent studies.” I put it to the test to see how it fares. I used the tool without signing up which is great for those who want to try it out first before any engagement.
I first pasted in the AI-generated article and it accurately flagged it as AI generated, but it did not provide any further details on which parts or sentences are AI-generate, score number, etc.
I pasted my other paragraphs which I have written myself and again it accurately identified them as human-written but no further details.
I have had an account with Copyleaks for a year now but have rarely used it. So I logged in and tried to run scans but unfortunately it asked me to get a subscription to do the scans. So what I did was I checked my previous scans and I can see that with a premium account you get a detailed report on your text like the percentage of AI content in the text, highlighted passages, and more. I went through my reports and I can confidently claim that Copyleaks detects AI content with higher accuracy.
Here are some of the main features provided by Copyleaks:
- You can copy/paste text to run AI detection scans, or you can upload files and documents or paste URLs.
- Text compare tool which allows you to compare two documents side by side (files supported include: PDF, text, DOC, DOCX, PPT, EPUB, URLs, and more)
- OCR tool to extract text from images for AI detection scans
- Ability to invite members and work collaboratively on reports
- Plagiarism checker
- Available as a Chrome extension
Pricing: As of writing these lines, Copyleaks offers different subscription plans including: AI+ Plagiarism Detection plan for $13.99/month, Plagiarism Checker for $8.99/month, and AI Detector for $7.99/month.
Other AI Checkers
I tried a number of other AI checkers but did not include them here. For instance, Merlin AI Checker did not pass my test. I scanned my AI generated sample and it returned a meagre score of 14% likelihood of it being AI generated.
Likewise, Crossplag AI content detector did not pass the test. It falsely identified my AI generated sample text as being ‘mainly written by a human’. Additionally, I tried BrandWell (formerly Content at Scale) and while it did pass the test but I did not include it as I find it to be more oriented towards businesses, SEO services, professional content writers, etc.
That said, there are two popular AI-powered tools whose AI content detectors have received positive reviews from educators and teachers. These are Grammarly (AI checker) and Turnitin. While both are paid tools, I haven’t had the chance to test them yet. Once I do, I’ll share my feedback here.
Final thoughts
While AI tools like ChatGPT offer exciting possibilities for enriched learning experiences, they also pose significant challenges, particularly around plagiarism and content originality. In my experience testing various AI content detectors, I’ve found that these tools—regardless of their accuracy—should only be used to supplement your judgment as an educator, not replace it. AI detectors can be helpful, but they’re not perfect. I argue that a holistic and participatory approach that combines teacher intuition, discussions with students, and AI detection tools to be more effective.
