How to Figure Out If You're Reading AI-Generated Content

Use an AI detection tool.

Check the writing with a tool. There are plenty of AI-detection tools online that you can use to detect if writing is AI-generated. However, AI detection tools do have their limitations and should not be relied upon solely. You should use multiple tools in conjunction with other verification methods. Compare the writing with the student or authors previous writing to see if there are any differences. Some AI detection tools include the following: TurnItIn AI Detector AI Text Classifier AI Checker GPTZero CopyLeaks

Use AI to detect AI writing.

Use a chatbot to detect AI writing. In addition to using one of the many AI detection tools online, you can also use AI itself to detect AI. For example, you could go the ChatGPT website and use the [Write-Better-Prompts-for-ChatGPT|prompt]] "Did you write this?" Then upload or copy and paste the text. It will tell you if the text was written in ChatGPT or not.

It didn't take long to finish

The assignment was turned in too early. AI can produce paragraphs of writing in a matter of seconds. If an assignment is turned in way earlier than expected, that could be a red flag.

It is too perfect.

The spelling, punctuation, and grammar are abnormally correct. Most students are not expert writers. Even professional writers can have an occasional typo. If the writing is abnormally perfect, especially compared to their previous writing, this could be a red flag that the writing was AI-generated.

A lot of reliance on lists and bullet points

AI frequently uses lists and bullet points to organize information. Students and new writers often struggle with how to organize information and may not write in this format. If you see a lot of bullet points and lists when it seems like most people wouldn't write this way, it could be AI-generated.

It's monotonous and lacks emotion

There is no human voice in the writing. If the writing doesn't use any informal words or phrases, or slang terms, this could be a sign that it was written in AI. AI writing will typically have an unemotional, robotic tone. It lacks personal experience and reflection. If the author doesn't express any strong emotions or strong opinions, this could be another red flag.

It's got incorrect facts.

Fact-check against reputable sources. AI generates text by placing words together in a way that aligns with common patterns in the text it was trained on. It doesn't actually know anything. Furthermore, many AI chatbots are trained on outdated information. If the information is incorrect or sites made up sources, it could be generated by AI.

The writing is formulaic and predictable.

There is an excessive amount of commonly used words and phrases. AI works by piecing together commonly used words and phrases from other sources. As a result, it tends to produce a large number of repeated words and phrases that a person wouldn't use in real life. It also uses a formulaic sentence structure, such as paragraphs that start with a strong opening sentence and end with a summary sentence. To see a comprehensive list of commonly used words and phrases that AI uses, check out [this subreddit.

It has a lot of vague or unimportant details.

The writing contains a lot of filler. For example, if you are reading a product review and it includes a lot of detailed descriptions about things most people wouldn't find important, it could be written by AI. Likewise, if you are reading an article you found on Google and the information doesn't satisfy your search intent, it could be written by AI.

The narrative is incoherent.

The storytelling is choppy and inconsistent. AI struggles with coherent storytelling. It may contain events that don't naturally flow together. It may also contain social cues and cultural nuances that feel unnatural. It may also contain historical contexts that are inconsistent or factually incorrect.

It didn't understand the assignment.

It doesn't follow guidelines or the correct format. If the assignment was to write an article in a specific format, and the writing deviates too much from that said format, it could be written by AI. If a student is instructed to cite a specific data source and writing gets its source from somewhere else, that could be a sign of AI writing.