With the increasing concerns about people’s dependency on (artificial intelligence) AI-generated texts, Turnitin is activating its AI-writing detection capabilities.

Turnitin is a company that provides a web-based plagiarism detection service, which is used mostly in educational institutions. Its AI-writing detection technology identifies the use of AI writing tools including ChatGPT, “with 98% confidence,” enabling educators to analyze and review the authenticity of academic work.

“Educators told us that being able to accurately detect AI written text is their priority right now,” Chris Caren, CEO, of Turnitin, said in a statement. “It is equally important that detection technology becomes a seamless part of their existing workflow, which we have done by integrating AI detection capabilities into Turnitin solutions.”

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Turnitin’s AI detector provides an evaluative measure of how many sentences in a written submission may have been generated by artificial intelligence, which educators can use to determine if further review, inquiry, or discussion with the student is needed. Turnitin’s AI writing detection capabilities are available within existing products and solutions.

Turnitin began working on detection capabilities for GPT3, the underlying technology on which many AI writing applications are based, nearly two years prior to the release of ChatGPT. Built to help educators and academic institutions identify AI-generated text in student-written submissions, Turnitin’s AI writing detection capabilities are integrated into existing Turnitin systems and accessible through learning management systems. 

Integrated into Turnitin system

Turnitin’s tool does not require additional steps for current Turnitin educator users to access. Over 10,700 institutions and more than 2.1 million educators will be able to quickly and easily evaluate a submission for the presence of AI-generated text and provide feedback to students in their current Turnitin workflows.

To help the education community navigate and manage this new technology in the classroom, Turnitin has published an AI writing resource page. The publicly available web page is regularly updated with practical resources from the company’s Teaching and Learning team, which consists of former and current educators. Current resources include a glossary of AI terms, a guide on updating an academic integrity policy in the age of AI and a downloadable AI misuse rubric to help educators proactively prepare writing assignments from potential AI-generated text. The page also reports progress in refining detection capabilities as AI writing technology continues to evolve.