The best AI detector for essays
Pick for essays: GPTZero. In our run so far it flagged 0 of 100 real human texts as AI.
Tested: In progress since 9 November 2026. Page updated: .
Short answer
For a full-length essay, GPTZero is the pick: it reads whole papers, marks the paragraphs that drove its score, and in run RUN-2026-11-A so far it flagged 0 of 100 human texts as AI.
Long essays mix quotation, summary and argument, and the summary paragraphs are where false alarms cluster. Read the paragraph view, not only the total.
Run RUN-2026-11-A started on 9 November 2026 and is in progress: GPTZero and Originality.ai are scored on the first 120 samples, and every other tool shows a test in progress tag until its readings are in.
The pick table for teachers
Scored on student work only: essays written without AI, essays by students writing in a second language, and AI essays.
| Place | Tool | Score for teachers | False alarms on student essays | Reading | Detection on AI essays | Free plan | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Score pending | 0 of 100 | 20 of 20 | Yes | Teachers marking essays | Short texts score unreliably | ||
| 2 | Score pending | 0 of 100 | 20 of 20 | Trial credits | Editors checking batches | No permanent free plan | ||
| 3 | Test in progress | Test in progress | Test in progress | 20 checks a day | A second reading you can defend | Free plan caps daily checks | ||
| 4 | Test in progress | Test in progress | Test in progress | Limited free credits | Departments choosing one tool | Reports are hard to read | ||
| 5 | Test in progress | Test in progress | Test in progress | No | Schools with a licence | Only through your institution |
One student essay, two readings
Sample H-002 · student work, written without AI · run RUN-2026-11-A
GZGPTZero
OAOriginality.aiWhile the idea of having a fully-autonomous is very real, scientists are still very far from it. Research is being conducted every day to improve the efficeincy and safefty of these new semi-autonomous vehicles. In my opinion, driverless cars are inevitable and I would not doubt that I will end up seeing one in my lifetime. But as of right now, cars can't do as much as scientists are hoping for in the future. With that being said, I will there will be a more positive outcome of driverless cars than negative.
Ch. 10% AICh. 22% AIMany skeptics say dirverless cars will never be possible. But, what they don't realize is that we are closer than we ever have been before regardless of how much research is still necessary to succesfully make a fully autonomous car. Google's concept car has been able to drive over half a million miles without a crash. Their car still requires a driver, but it is only for more advanced tasks such as traffic issues or roadwork. Other companies have also attempted to create a driverless concept car and the concepts have showed potential. They are far from driverless but they are going in the right direction. BMW announced that their car could handle driving speeds of up 25 mph but still require the focus of a human being behind the wheel.
Ch. 10% AICh. 22% AIWhile I am very supportive of driverless cars, I think there will always be flaws, no matter the size. I think there will always be malfunctions but that does not mean that those can be fixed either. The research that has been put into these vehicles have been very strenuous and have proven that there will never not be flaws in creating an autonomous car. They still may crash but the probability of a fatal crash in a driverless is much lower than the probability of a fatal crash due to human error. Humans get distracted thus creating more chances for an accident to occur. With driverless cars, there is no chance of human error or the car getting distracted because driving is what it was built for.
Ch. 10% AICh. 22% AIThere are not many current laws or regulations on autonomous cars, so even if Google or BMW were to finish research and create a flawless and driverless car, they wouldn't be able to manufacture them on a commercial level. This is because there wouldn't be any laws covering liability in the case of an accident, if an accident were to somehow occur. It is undetermined who would be at fault for the accident according to the state. I think the company should be more at fault, considering they are advertising these cars as "driverless".
Ch. 10% AICh. 22% AIWith my opinion on driverless cars being said, I still think they are a good idea and will benefit society in the long run and keep more people safe. There are bumps in the road regarding laws and the time it will take to get to where big name companies want to be. But, if we are all patient and let scientists conduct quality research, I see a bright future for fully autonomous cars.
Ch. 10% AICh. 23% AIScroll the chart sideways to read every paragraph.
Which AI detector is best for teachers?
It depends on how you mark and what your school already pays for.
If you read whole papers
Choose GPTZero if you want the paragraph that drove the score.
If you check essays in batches
Choose Originality.ai if you scan many papers a week on a paid plan.
If a flag will be disputed
Choose Pangram as the second reading on a contested paper.
If your school has it
Choose Turnitin and open the report, not the number.
How did we rank detectors for teachers?
For this page we scored every detector on student work only: essays students wrote without AI, essays by students writing in a second language, and AI essays, both raw and edited by a person.
False alarms on student writing carry the most weight, because a wrong flag lands on a real student. Detection on raw AI text comes next, then detection on AI text a person has edited, then access and price.
Every number on this page comes from run RUN-2026-11-A. The CSV for that run is on the test runs page.
Read how we test| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| False alarms on human writing | 40% | Student essays scored as AI |
| Detection on raw AI text | 30% | Unedited AI essays scored as AI |
| Detection on human-edited AI text | 15% | AI essays a person revised, scored as AI |
| Access and price | 15% | Free plan, limits, school sign up |
Every detector, the same fields
Verdict, score, who it suits, what it gets wrong, the price on the day we checked, and how it read the student set.
GZGPTZero
Pick for essays- Verdict
- The pick for marking essays. Open the sentence view before you act on any flag.
- Score
- Score pending
- Sub-scores
- False alarms 0 of 100Raw AI 20 of 20Edited AI Test in progress
- Best for
- Teachers marking essays
- Main limitation
- Short texts score unreliably
- Price and plan limit
- CA$25.99 a month (Premium, monthly), 300,000 words. Free plan: Yes. Checked on
| Sample rows | Samples | Scored as AI |
|---|---|---|
| Student essays, no AI | 60 | 0 of 60 |
| Second language essays, no AI | 20 | 0 of 20 |
| Professional prose, no AI | 20 | 0 of 20 |
| AI essays, raw | 20 of 60 so far | 20 of 20 |
| AI essays, edited by a person | 20 | Test in progress |
OAOriginality.ai
- Verdict
- Built for editors and batches, priced for regular use.
- Score
- Score pending
- Sub-scores
- False alarms 0 of 100Raw AI 20 of 20Edited AI Test in progress
- Best for
- Editors checking batches
- Main limitation
- No permanent free plan
- Price and plan limit
- $14.95 a month, 200,000 words. Free plan: Trial credits. Checked on
| Sample rows | Samples | Scored as AI |
|---|---|---|
| Student essays, no AI | 60 | 0 of 60 |
| Second language essays, no AI | 20 | 0 of 20 |
| Professional prose, no AI | 20 | 0 of 20 |
| AI essays, raw | 20 of 60 so far | 20 of 20 |
| AI essays, edited by a person | 20 | Test in progress |
PGPangram
- Verdict
- The careful second reading. Use it when a flag will be argued over.
- Score
- Test in progress
- Sub-scores
- Readings Test in progress
- Best for
- A second reading you can defend
- Main limitation
- Free plan caps daily checks
- Price and plan limit
- $20 a month, 300,000 words. Free plan: 20 checks a day. Checked on
| Sample rows | Samples | Scored as AI |
|---|---|---|
| All sample rows | 180 | Test in progress |
CLCopyleaks
- Verdict
- One tool a department can share, with reports staff can keep.
- Score
- Test in progress
- Sub-scores
- Readings Test in progress
- Best for
- Departments choosing one tool
- Main limitation
- Reports are hard to read
- Price and plan limit
- $16.99 a month, 100 credits. Free plan: Limited free credits. Checked on
| Sample rows | Samples | Scored as AI |
|---|---|---|
| All sample rows | 180 | Test in progress |
TITurnitin
- Verdict
- Use it if your school has it, and read the full report, not the headline number.
- Score
- Test in progress
- Sub-scores
- Readings Test in progress
- Best for
- Schools with a licence
- Main limitation
- Only through your institution
- Price and plan limit
- Sold to institutions only. Free plan: No. Checked on
| Sample rows | Samples | Scored as AI |
|---|---|---|
| All sample rows | 180 | Test in progress |
What does a flag on a long essay mean?
On a long essay, one formal paragraph can carry the whole score.
Summaries, definitions and quoted passages read as predictable text, and detectors score predictable text as AI. When a long essay is flagged, find the paragraph that drove it and read it against the rest. The study by Weber-Wulff and colleagues (2023) found that AI text edited by a person was caught far less often than unedited AI text, so a clean score on an edited draft proves little either way.
Read the sentences, not the number
Open the sentence or paragraph view and see what drove the score. A textbook style paragraph, like P3 above, often explains the whole flag.
Compare with work you know
Set the flagged essay beside the student's earlier writing. A sudden change in voice tells you more than a percentage.
Ask the student about the draft
Ask how they wrote it, what they changed and what they read. Drafts, notes and version history answer more than any detector.keep the version history
Record what you found
Note what you checked and what the student said, not only the score. If the case goes further, the score should never stand alone.
No detector score should be the only evidence in a misconduct case.
Questions from teachers
Can editing an AI essay get past a detector?
Often. In Perkins and colleagues (2024), the accuracy of seven detectors fell sharply on AI text that had been deliberately altered, which is why our run scores edited AI text separately.
What is the best AI detector for essays?
GPTZero: it reads full papers and shows which paragraphs drove each score. In run RUN-2026-11-A so far it flagged 0 of 100 human texts as AI.
Do AI detectors work on essays a person edited?
Less well. In Weber-Wulff and colleagues (2023), accuracy on AI text with human edits was 42%, against 74% on unedited AI text. Our run counts edited AI essays separately for the same reason.
Why do quotations and summaries get flagged?
Because they read as predictable text. Detectors score how predictable each sentence is, and a careful summary is predictable by design. Check the flagged paragraph before you draw any conclusion.
Related reading
Best AI Detector for Teachers (2026): Classroom PicksThe pick for a stack of essays and one flag to check.
Best AI Detector for Students: Check Before You SubmitCheck your own draft before it goes in.
Most Accurate AI Detector (2026): Accuracy RankedSorted only on false alarms and AI caught.
How AI Detectors Are Tested: Our Samples, Scoring, DatesThe protocol behind every pick.