How Well Does Turnitin Detect AI

Ever wondered if Turnitin can actually catch AI-generated content?

As more students turn to AI tools for writing assistance, educators are left questioning whether these tools are slipping under the radar. The growing use of AI in academic settings has stirred concerns about maintaining originality and avoiding plagiarism, leaving individuals unsure of the risks.

But don't worry—Turnitin has stepped up its game by incorporating advanced detection methods to flag AI-driven work.

Curious to know how it all works? Let’s dive deeper into the specifics and uncover exactly how Turnitin detects AI content.

What is AI Detection?

AI detection refers to the process of identifying content generated by artificial intelligence.

AI-written content is typically produced by algorithms or language models like GPT, designed to mimic human writing. While AI-generated text can seem natural, it often follows certain patterns, lacks deep critical thinking, or might use repetitive phrasing.

Detection tools analyze these subtle differences to identify AI-generated work. They use advanced algorithms to track inconsistencies in sentence structures, unnatural flow, and other markers that set AI apart from human writing.

These tools also compare the text against large datasets to flag content that shows signs of automation. As AI usage grows, detection technology becomes increasingly sophisticated to keep up with the challenge.

Turnitin Similarity Report - New Feature Added “AI Detection”

The Turnitin Similarity Report is a tool widely used by educators to assess the originality of a student’s work. It compares submitted documents against a vast database of academic papers, books, websites, and other sources to highlight any similarities.

The report presents a percentage score, indicating how much of the content matches existing sources, alongside a color-coded system to show the severity of these matches. This helps instructors quickly see if a student’s work contains potential plagiarism or improperly cited materials.

Recently, Turnitin introduced a new feature—AI Detection—with the Similarity Report. This enhancement now highlights portions of the text that are suspected to be generated by AI tools.

Using advanced algorithms, it analyzes the writing style, sentence structure, and other patterns specific to AI-generated content. In the updated report, sections flagged as AI-generated are clearly marked.

This gives educators an even more comprehensive view of the originality and authenticity of the work and ensures that both plagiarism and AI usage are detected.

How Turnitin Flags AI-Generated Content

Turnitin’s AI detection process starts by splitting a submitted document into overlapping segments, each containing several sentences. These segments are then evaluated using an AI model to predict whether the content was created by a human or an AI tool.

The system gives each sentence a score:

“0” for human writing

“1” if it's likely written by AI

The model averages these scores to create a final prediction, reflecting the overall percentage of AI-generated text in the document.

Although the tool currently detects AI writing primarily from GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models, Turnitin is working to broaden its coverage as AI technology evolves.

Understanding Turnitin’s AI Writing Indicator: Color Codes Explained

In Turnitin’s Similarity Report, the AI writing indicator is located within the side panel. After the system processes the document, the indicator will show one of four statuses.

It will be represented by different colors, each conveying a unique message about the presence of AI-generated content.

If the AI writing detection model in Turnitin successfully processes a submission, it will display a blue indicator with a percentage ranging from 0 to anywhere between 20 and 100.

This percentage reflects the portion of qualifying text within the document that the model identifies as likely generated by AI. However, it's important to note that this percentage does not necessarily cover the entire submission. Sections of the text that do not qualify as long-form prose are excluded from this analysis.

During testing, it was observed that percentages falling between 1 and 20 tend to have a higher rate of false positives. To address this, the AI indicator will display an asterisk (*) for percentages within this range, signaling that the score may be less reliable and should be interpreted with caution.

To view detailed results, one can click on the AI writing indicator to open the AI writing report. This report will appear in a new browser tab. If a pop-up blocker is active, make sure to enable Turnitin pop-ups to access the report.

AI models can sometimes mistakenly flag human-written text as AI-generated, known as false positives. To minimize the risk of these errors, Turnitin no longer assigns a score or highlights any AI detection results that fall between 1% and 19%.

Instead, if AI content is detected below the 20% threshold, it is marked with an asterisk (*%) rather than displaying a specific percentage.

This adjustment applies only to new submissions processed after July 2024 and does not impact previously submitted reports. If your report was generated before this update, you may still see a numerical score below 20%.

A gray AI writing detection indicator without a percentage means that Turnitin was unable to process the submitted document. As a result, the AI writing report cannot be accessed. This can occur due to one of the mentioned reasons:

• The submission was made before Turnitin introduced its AI writing detection feature. To generate an AI report for older submissions, they must be resubmitted.
• The file does not meet the necessary requirements for AI detection processing. This could involve issues like unsupported file types or insufficient content for analysis.

An error symbol (!) indicates that Turnitin was unable to process the file submitted. As a result, the AI writing report cannot be generated at the moment.

While Turnitin strives to enhance its services, occasional technical issues like this may arise. In such cases, it's advised to try resubmitting the file later.

If the file meets all the necessary requirements but the error persists, it's best to contact Turnitin’s customer support for assistance in resolving the issue.

Example Turnitin Report Showing AI Content Detection

Percentage of Text Identified as AI-Generated

The overall percentage of AI-detected content reflects the portion of qualifying text—specifically prose in a long-form format—that Turnitin’s AI detection model identifies as possibly generated by AI. This could also include content created by AI but later reworded using paraphrasing tools like word spinners.

In the attached example, the overall percentage detected as AI is equal to 64%.

Submission Breakdown: Interactive Visual Bar

The new submission breakdown bar offers a visual representation of where AI-generated content and AI-paraphrasing tools have been identified across the pages of a submission.

This interactive tool allows you to click on the highlighted sections, instantly directing you to the relevant text and page for a closer look at the flagged content.

The total percentage of AI-detected text is divided into two groups within the Submission Breakdown.

• AI-Generated Only: This group identifies text likely produced by a Large Language Model (LLM). In the breakdown bar and throughout the submission, this text is colored in cyan. It is 30% in the above example.
• AI-Generated Text That Was AI-Paraphrased: This group captures text that was probably generated by AI and then altered using some AI paraphrasing tool. These instances are colored in purple in both the submission breakdown bar and the document itself. It is 34% in the above example.

To Sum Up,

As AI continues to shape the academic world, tools like Turnitin are evolving to ensure integrity and fairness. By detecting both AI-generated and AI-paraphrased content, Turnitin helps educators identify unoriginal work, providing a more comprehensive assessment of student submissions.

While no detection method is perfect, Turnitin’s advanced AI detection model is a step forward in maintaining authenticity and integrity in academic writing. However, Turnitin still lacks in various aspects.

So, if you're looking to safeguard your work or ensure that your content passes AI detection checks, try our AI Detector and AI Humanizer tools today. You can also check out our AI Essay Writer for your essay writing needs.

Stay ahead of the challenge and guarantee your writing is both original and authentic!