A detector score is not proof

An AI detector is a tool that guesses whether a piece of text was written by AI. Teachers say these tools leave them second-guessing, and with reason. They make mistakes in both directions: they can flag honest writing and miss copied work.

Even OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT (the best-known AI chat tool), withdrew its own AI text classifier on 20 July 2023, citing its "low rate of accuracy" (Search Engine Land).

So treat a score as a reason to look closer. The evidence is the student's own thinking: can they explain the essay, and can they show how it was made?

Worked example

A 10-minute talk with a student whose essay was flagged:
1. "Tell me your main argument in your own words."
2. "Why did you pick this example over the others?"
3. "Show me your notes, an early draft or the version history."
4. "What does this word in paragraph 2 mean?"

Version history is the saved record of every change to a document.

A student who wrote it can usually answer. A student who didn't usually can't. Either way, you're judging what they know, not a percentage.

Try it