I found some writing that feels off, and I’m trying to figure out if it was made by AI or written by a person. I need help with reliable ways to check for AI-generated content because I don’t want to accuse anyone without real signs or tools that actually work.
Best way is to treat it like authorship checking, not AI hunting.
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Compare it to known writing from the same person.
Same sentence length. Same vocab. Same mistakes. Same tone. Big mismatch matters more than any detector. -
Check for AI tells.
Over-polished grammar.
Generic examples.
Repeats the same point with slightly different wording.
Confident claims with no source.
Odd phrasing a person in that context wouln’t use. -
Verify facts.
AI text often slips on dates, quotes, citations, and names. Check 3 to 5 specifics. Small errors stack up fast. -
Ask for drafts or revision history.
Google Docs history helps a lot. Human writing usually shows buildup, edits, messy changes. Pasted full blocks look diff rent. -
Use detectors only as weak signals.
Most tools throw false positives. Even OpenAI has said detectors are not reliable enough for proof. They flag non-native English writers more often too. -
Ask the person about the piece.
Have them explain choices, sources, and structure. If they wrote it, they usually know why each part is there.
So, don’t accuse based on one scanner. Look for pattern, process, and proof.
I’d add one thing to what @espritlibre said: look at the purpose of the text, not just the texture.
A lot of people get hung up on “sounds robotic,” but honestly some humans write stiff as hell, and some AI text is cleaned up enough to pass. So instead ask:
- Does it actually answer the prompt in a specific way, or just circle around it with safe wording?
- Does it take any real risks, opinions, or unusual angles?
- Are there concrete details that feel lived-in, or is it all polished wallpaper?
One trick I use is to pull out 3 to 4 sentences and ask: could these be swapped into a totally different essay and still fit? If yes, that’s a red flag. AI writing is often weirdly portable. Human writing is usually more anchored to context.
Also, watch transitions. AI loves smooth glue phrases between every paragraph. Real people are often choppier, or they jump a bit. Not always, but often enough.
Where I kinda disagree with people is this idea that “perfect grammar” means much. Plenty of students run Grammarly, editors exist, and some folks are just clean writers. Same with “repetition.” Humans repeat themselfs too, especailly when padding word count.
If this matters in any serious way, the safest route is: don’t try to prove AI from vibe alone. Try to see whether the writing shows human decision-making. That’s usually the more useful test.