Want To Check If An Article Is Written By ChatGPT-Like AI? Here’s How To Do It

There are several online tools that can help spot generative AI content.

ChatGPT was launched by OpenAI as a protoype in November 2022. ( Image Source :Getty )

Ever since ChatGPT was released as a prototype by Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence (AI) research firm OpenAI, individuals and organisations alike are leveraging the chatbot to generate articles, which can range from school essays to elaborate company newsletters. 

While ChatGPT can make creative work easier, and help generate copies that could pass online plagiarism checkers with flying colours, there’s a way that can help eagle-eyed users catch generative AI content.

Writer, a San Francisco-based AI research firm, offers free access to its ‘AI content detector’, which can help users figure out if an article is written by an AI bot.

The free version of Writer’s AI detector is available for free via its website, with a stipulated limit of 1,500 characters, which could be somewhere around 300 words or less. Since a limit-free version isn’t available, you can break up your article into separate parts to use the AI detector. Writer has also made its AI detector API available for developers, who can use it for up to 500,000 words per month. 

How does Writer work?

To put Writer’s AI detector to test, we decided to run a ChatGPT-created article through it. 

We asked ChatGPT to write an essay on global warming.

Here’s an excerpt of what it churned out: 

“Global warming is one of the most significant challenges facing humanity today. It is a phenomenon caused by the release of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, which trap heat from the sun and cause the Earth's temperature to rise. This increase in temperature has far-reaching and potentially catastrophic consequences for the planet and all its inhabitants.

One of the most immediate and visible effects of global warming is the melting of the polar ice caps. As the temperature rises, the ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctica are melting at an alarming rate, causing sea levels to rise. This poses a significant threat to low-lying areas and coastal cities, where flooding can lead to property damage, displacement, and loss of life.”

Now, we ran this piece of text through two separate free online plagiarism checkers, via SmallSEOTools and DupliChecker websites. In both cases, the checkers analysed that the copy has 95 per cent unique text (screenshot below) — which is good enough to pass it off entirely as an original piece of content to unsuspecting parties.

Now, we ran it through Writer’s AI detector. Within a few seconds, it pointed out that the article has only 22 per cent human-generated content (screenshot below), which is a notably low number.

Just like Writer, there are several more free AI copy detectors that you use. A simple Google search will throw up several results. However, we advise that you try multiple AI detectors and read the fine print (for limitations, payment details if any) before deciding to zero down on a specific one.