In many cases, generative AI is a double-edged sword: while it may promote productivity, it can also discourage creativity. When AI-generated words begin to replace human thought and ingenuity, our written and visual work may lose compassion and imagination. 

For this reason, hiring managers, editors, CTOs, professors, and anyone else who reviews writing should access tools that identify AI-generated content. To help you decide which tool(s) to use, we evaluated a few popular detectors based on accuracy, pricing, and additional features, so you can flag and discourage the use of generative AI.

1. Copyleaks

Copyleaks doesn’t just give text a cursory scan; it dives deep, thoroughly examining content for any signs of inauthenticity and even providing extra tools to make your work shine. Copyleak’s education package merges with learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas and Blackboard, allowing teachers to detect generative AI as they grade. AI and plagiarism detection are integrated into submissions, eliminating the need to upload files to third-party tools. 

Copyleaks users can even add a text-moderation feature that flags potentially sensitive or offensive content. If you work in Google Docs, the Copyleaks Google Docs add-on can help you catch plagiarism or AI content while you review. When you add the Copyleaks extension to your Chrome or Edge browser, you can peek behind the curtain and identify AI-generated content in news articles, reviews, and social media posts. 

Copyleaks provides two individual subscription options: Personal ($13.99/month) and Pro ($74.99/month). In a 2025 study evaluating nearly 50 text samples, Copyleaks achieved a 98.8% accuracy rate in detecting AI-generated content. The same study found that it identified human-written text with 100% accuracy, effectively avoiding the pervasive false positives of other detection tools.

2. ZeroGPT

One of the most widely used AI detection tools, GPTZero, is designed to identify whether content was generated by a large language model such as ChatGPT. The platform scans text quickly and reports the percentage it classifies as AI-generated, human-written, or a combination of the two.

In addition to AI detection, GPTZero offers several supporting features, including a plagiarism checker, grammar checker, and authorship verification tools. The platform also includes a vocabulary analysis feature that flags words commonly associated with generative AI, even when AI tools were not used.

GPTZero provides a free plan that allows users to scan up to 10,000 words per month. For higher usage needs, paid plans include a Premium option with a 300,000-word monthly limit for $9.99 and a Professional plan offering 500,000 words for $24.99 per month.

A 2025 study evaluated GPTZero using 78 essays, some written by humans and others generated by AI. The results showed that GPTZero identified AI-generated content with 90 to 99 percent accuracy. However, the study also found that human-written content was frequently misclassified as AI-generated, indicating that false positives remain a limitation.

3. Originality.AI

Originality.AI preserves originality and prevents cheating by scanning work for AI-generated content. If a journalist, content marketer, scientist, student, or researcher uses ChatGPT, Originality.AI will sniff out and alert you to the counterfeit content. 

All you have to do is upload the suspicious text, and this detector will tell you the likelihood that AI generated it. And AI detection isn’t the only trick up this tool’s sleeve, either! Fact-checking, plagiarism detection, and grammar accuracy screening are among the features included with Originality.AI.

This tool is available in three packages: You can pay a one-time fee of $30 to purchase a set number of words on an as-needed basis, $12.95 a month for the Pro plan, or $136.58 per month for the Enterprise plan, which works well for bigger teams.

Originality.AI boasts accuracy ratings of 90% or higher, but it isn’t without its imperfections. Be aware that it occasionally labels original work as AI-generated, especially if the content is a paraphrased version of someone else’s writing. 

4. Winston AI

Winston AI defines its three intended uses right up front: This lightning-fast tool is ideal for education, SEO, and writing, uncovering generative AI in both text and images within seconds. It also gives written work a readability score, so you can figure out before publishing if what you’ve written is at your target audience’s reading level. 

Winston AI appeals to casual users with its $0/month package, and its two most advanced packages, priced at $16 and $26 per month, respectively, offer a unique opportunity to earn your website a HUMN-1 certification, which verifies that it was created by humans. To confirm the accuracy of research, Winston AI even has a fact-checking tool to verify claims or call them out when they’re incorrect. 

Although the company claims its accuracy rating is nearly 100%, independent testing reveals that this detector can be fooled into thinking AI-generated content was written by a human.

5. Grammarly

A popular tool for spelling and grammar, Grammarly can help you with generative AI detection, too. Simply paste your text, and Grammarly will provide guidance on punctuation, spelling, and word choice. This tool also makes clarity suggestions, helping you adjust writing to make it as smooth and easy to understand as possible. 

For insight into a piece of content’s authenticity, simply click on the “check for AI text & plagiarism” feature. Grammarly will respond by highlighting chunks of text that resemble AI and linking to sources the writer may have plagiarized. 

Though there is a free Grammarly plan, you’ll need $12 monthly for the Pro plan to access the AI detection tool. If a large team will be using your Grammarly account, you can purchase the Enterprise plan designed for work across organizations. Pricing for this package is custom, so you’ll need to contact Grammarly’s sales team for details. 

6. QuillBot

QuillBot’s AI detector, just one part of this platform’s suite of writing tools, delivers nuanced analyses to help you determine if generative AI was used. While tools like Copyleaks provide an AI percentage score, QuillBot offers more detailed results by categorizing text into AI-generated, human-written, and human-written but AI-refined.

As far as features go, QuillBot is more than equipped to make your writing better with a plagiarism detector, a text summarizer, and a translation tool. For faster speeds, tone suggestions, and a higher word count capacity per month, you can purchase QuillBot’s premium package for $19.95 per month. 

QuillBot’s free option and range of features make it a worthwhile pick when writing in a more casual setting, but accuracy ratings ranging from 70-91% mean it's probably not the best choice if you’re looking for a more professional assessment. 

Human first, AI second

Generative AI is here to stay, and AI detection tools are part of that reality. While these tools can help flag content that might be AI-generated, they are not foolproof: False positives and inconsistent results can still happen.

The good news is that AI detectors work best when used as support, not as the final word. Paired with thoughtful human judgment, these AI detectors can help you preserve artistic, journalistic, and academic integrity, both on and offline.