Can Turnitin detect AI writing / ChatGPT?

N

NadiaT

Well-known member
Is it really true that Turnitin can detect AI-generated essays? It clearly states that it detects AI writing, but is that accurate? We all know Turnitin has long claimed it can detect papers purchased from essay writing services, though many students still avoid getting caught. What about AI detection, though? Has anyone tried submitting an essay generated with the help of ChatGPT? I'm swamped with essays and tempted to use AI, but I'm also scared af it'll get flagged since my school uses Turnitin.
 
Well, yes and no. The truth is that there is no reliable way of detecting AI essays. Turnitin gives you an estimated % of the likelihood that a submitted paper was AI generated.

This percentage can sometimes be high even for those papers that were written from scratch. Here's a Reddit thread where a student says that Turnitin rated their essay as 62% AI-generated:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/17gj5ky/my_professor_said_turnitin_rated_my_essay_62_ai

AI detectors often rely on patterns or characteristics that might be common in AI-generated text but can also appear in human-written papers. This can lead to A LOT of false positives. Plus, if someone mixes human and AI writing cleverly, it becomes even harder to detect. Turnitin's AI detector is definitely not foolproof.
 
So I recently turned in my final essay for a class, and my professor said Turnitin flagged it with a 23% AI-generated score. I told him I didn't use any AI at all. He kinda just shrugged and gave me an okay grade but told me to rewrite it.

I’ve been working on that rewrite and just checked it with ZeroGPT. Weirdly, this time it scored even higher at 34%. I've already emailed my professor with a screenshot of the new score.

Once he gets back to me, I’m thinking of sending him photos of all the books and notes I used. Other than that, I’m out of ideas. This AI detection thing seems pretty hit or miss, and it's putting students in a tough spot with potential false flags. If anyone has tips on how to prove I didn’t use AI, I’d really appreciate it!
 
NerdAlert909 said:
So I recently turned in my final essay for a class, and my professor said Turnitin flagged it with a 23% AI-generated score. I told him I didn't use any AI at all. He kinda just shrugged and gave me an okay grade but told me to rewrite it.
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First off, that AI detector is really no good. It seems like it was rushed through development. Even big AI companies struggle to make these tools, so there’s no way Turnitin whipped up a reliable one so quickly.

Also, a 23% probability of content being AI-generated? That's super low.

Plus, you should try uploading your class readings to Turnitin. I bet it’s going to flag a bunch of that material as AI-generated too. I remember reading a similar story about a high school student whose essay was marked as AI-generated by their principal and teacher. Can't recall exactly where I saw it, though.
 
I tried running three of my papers through ZeroGPT and scored between 20% to 30% on each one. These AI detectors are trash.
 
I feel like students who use chatgpt to write their papers and then tweak them with other software to dodge AI detection are probably going to have an easy time. Meanwhile, students who actually write well but don’t use chatgpt might keep getting mistakenly flagged for AI use.
 
YourWriter said:
I tried running three of my papers through ZeroGPT and scored between 20% to 30% on each one. These AI detectors are trash.
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I ran several of my assignments through Zero GPT, and almost all of them showed 0% AI content, with the highest being just 7% AI. If you know your professor uses Zero GPT to check your homework, it's a good idea to run your work through it beforehand and rewrite any sentences that get flagged.
 
NerdAlert909 said:
This AI detection thing seems pretty hit or miss, and it's putting students in a tough spot with potential false flags. If anyone has tips on how to prove I didn’t use AI, I’d really appreciate it!
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Google Docs automatically saves everything you write in a document and displays your edit history, so there's no better proof that you wrote your essay yourself. I once had a research paper that was flagged as AI-generated. Luckily, I was able to show my edit history and prove that it was all my own work.
 
NerdAlert909 said:
So I recently turned in my final essay for a class, and my professor said Turnitin flagged it with a 23% AI-generated score. I told him I didn't use any AI at all. He kinda just shrugged and gave me an okay grade but told me to rewrite it.

I’ve been working on that rewrite and just checked it with ZeroGPT. Weirdly, this time it scored even higher at 34%. I've already emailed my professor with a screenshot of the new score.

Once he gets back to me, I’m thinking of sending him photos of all the books and notes I used. Other than that, I’m out of ideas. This AI detection thing seems pretty hit or miss, and it's putting students in a tough spot with potential false flags. If anyone has tips on how to prove I didn’t use AI, I’d really appreciate it!



On a related note, if you’re looking for an easier way to ensure your work is original and well-structured, Overchat AI might be helpful. It’s an AI platform that can help with brainstorming, outlining, and refining ideas. It could serve as an additional resource to assist with writing tasks and to ensure you stay on track without relying on questionable AI detection tools.
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Since you’ve already reached out to your professor with a screenshot of the ZeroGPT score, here are a few other things you could try:


  1. Explain Your Process: Detail the process you followed while writing the essay. Break down how you researched, took notes, and structured the essay. If you kept any drafts or notes that show how your ideas evolved over time, it could help demonstrate the effort and originality that went into your work.
  2. Provide References: Along with your photos of books and notes, you could also include a list of the resources you consulted and any specific quotes or paraphrased ideas that directly influenced your writing. This shows that your work is grounded in external sources, rather than AI generation.
  3. Offer to Meet In-Person: If possible, offer to meet with your professor to walk through the essay and explain the writing process in person. It’s sometimes easier to clear things up through conversation rather than through email.
  4. Clarify the Detection Tools: It might help to bring up the limitations of AI detection tools. As you said, they can be hit or miss. You could suggest a more thorough review of your writing process and the context behind your essay, rather than relying solely on software flags.

Ultimately, proving that you didn’t use AI will depend on how clearly you can show that your work reflects your own effort and understanding. Keep communicating with your professor and be open about the process you followed. Hopefully, they’ll take that into consideration and resolve the issue.


Good luck!
 
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