Recent studies reveal that as many as 80% of bloggers now use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to some extent. That statistic may seem surprisingly high in an industry that’s built on authentic voices but, in 54% of cases, this AI usage simply refers to the use of intelligent tools when seeking content ideas.
That said, 6% of bloggers admit to using AI to create entire first drafts of their blog posts, even though 52% of readers engage less with this content. Why? Because it saves time and a great deal of energy. But, those benefits aren’t without significant cost.
For some bloggers, those costs are simply too high to pay, and unique content creation continues to reign. However, in an industry where guest and shared posts are a standard part of daily workloads, the risk of accidentally uploading AI-generated content still remains high.
AI detection tools are a reliable way to make sure that AI slips don’t happen. In this article, we’ll consider the best AI detection tools available right now.
How do AI Detection Tools Work?
AI detection tools process and examine text to identify whether or not it’s AI-generated. They achieve this goal by considering a range of text-based factors, including linguistic and structural features like word choice and sentence length. AI detectors also analyse text alongside existing data sets of human and AI-created content to determine which form of creation is most likely.
It is, however, important to note that, like AI text generators, AI detection tools are still very much in their infancy, and they’re still open to accuracy errors. To give an idea of how reliable AI detection tools are, it’s worth bearing in mind that they’re accurate roughly 7 out of 10 times according to SurferSEO.
This is simply because AI detectors, like most AI tools, don’t understand language as well as humans. They’re simply trained using historical data that enables them to make predictions. To ensure a higher level of accuracy, bloggers should also review any findings, and read through all articles for discrepancies themselves.
Why Use AI Detection Tools?
For some bloggers, using any AI-based tools might seem like a risk, especially considering that AI detection tools aren’t accurate 100% of the time. So why should you consider using AI detectors at all?
In truth, this is an entirely personal choice. No rule says that modern bloggers have to vet against AI content. However, there are some verifiable benefits to doing so, which include –
- Avoiding misinformation: AI-generated content can contain a multitude of inaccuracies and misinformation that may be associated with your brand if it appears on your blog. AI detection tools enable you to identify and thoroughly research any AI-written content before uploading.
- Building blog trust: Even one piece of AI-generated content on your blog could cost you the trust of a hard-won audience. By comparison, clearly stating your use of AI detection tools in areas like your guest post guidelines can boost reader trust.
- Staying out of trouble: While there have been no major legal repercussions for bloggers using AI yet, the risk of plagiarism when using these tools remains high. AI detectors allow you to identify and edit potential areas of plagiarism in your own unique words.
- Simplifying approval processes: Attempting to manually identify AI content in your guest post approval processes is long-winded and unlikely to be accurate. AI detectors allow you to quickly paste and analyse entire articles for AI use.
The Best Proven AI Detection Tools
AI detection tools are surging in popularity, and there are now plenty of options to choose from. We’ve put some of the best-known AI detectors to the test so that you don’t have to. Keep on reading to find out what we thought.
| AI Detector | Pricing | Level of Detail | Overall Score (out of 5) |
| Surfer AI | Free | Basic | 4 |
| Grammarly | Free/£10 per month pro account | Basic/text-specific breakdowns | 3.5 |
| GPTZero | Free/$12.99+ a month | Good/sentence-by-sentence breakdowns | 4.5 |
| Ahref | Free | Basic plus rewriting | 3 |
| Scribbr | Free/paid | Basic | 4 |
Surfer AI
SurferSEO is a well-known content platform that offers to write, optimise, and generate SEO articles in as little as 20 minutes. Users can also access a free Surfer AI detector, which uses machine learning to analyse text inputs for patterns in style and tone. The detector then provides a probability score of how likely a piece of text is to be human or AI-generated.
To get started, users must simply copy and paste a minimum of 100 words into the box provided. In the example above, you can see that an extract of this article has returned a 100% green human rating. AI-generated scores appear in orange, and the tool will typically predict that text has been AI-generated if it returns an AI score of 50% or more.
Key takeaways
Overall, this tool is a great and easy-to-use free option, and users can receive a clearly outlined score within seconds of posting their text. That said, results are provided in a simple ‘human/AI’ format that doesn’t break down particular areas of text. That could prove problematic for bloggers looking to check guest posts or sources, as it prevents you from seeing which elements are potentially AI-generated within those articles.
Grammarly
Many bloggers already use Grammarly’s free grammar checker to ensure quality uploads, but Grammarly has also branched out into other areas of AI in recent years. Now, users can enjoy a whole host of AI capabilities, including AI writing assistance and the use of the Grammarly AI detector.
As can be seen in this example, the most basic iteration of this tool is similar to Surfer AI and is available for both non-members and users with a free account plan. Again, users must simply paste their text sample into the box provided and click ‘check text’. They’ll then receive a percentage score of how much of that text seems to be AI-generated. As you can see, Grammarly has provided an 8% AI score for this human-written piece of content.
This is perhaps the main problem with Grammarly’s free tool – these percentages leave a lot of room for error. However, Grammarly’s tool is also available to pro customers who pay £10 a month, and individuals with an enterprise account. In this case, Grammarly’s AI detector can be accessed in the sidebar of any Grammarly document and includes a breakdown of any problem areas as well as suggestions for improvement.
Key Takeaways
Ultimately, Grammarly’s AI detector is a great choice for bloggers who are willing to pay to go pro, or who already use a pro or enterprise account. Grammarly is an especially great choice right now, as it integrates with over 500,000 apps and websites, making it ideal for real-time AI checks on everything from blog drafts in Google Docs to social media shares and beyond.
GPTZero
GPTZero is another highly respected AI detection tool that uses machine-learning to determine whether a piece of content was written using tools like ChatGPT. According to GPTZero’s website, their detector classifies human-written content with 99% accuracy, and AI generated content with 85% accuracy.
This is a claim that’s largely backed by one of the most complex free tools we’ve spoken about so far. Again as you can see from our example, you simply input your text (no more than 5,000 characters) and click to check. Like Grammarly’s AI tool, GPTZero highlights a possibility of 8% AI-generated content in our sample, but it also specifically expresses a high level of confidence that this text is entirely human-generated.
Scrolling down the page reveals a more detailed percentage breakdown of how much of the text appears to be human or AI-generated. Users can also access a free optional grammar checker as they scroll down the sidebar.
GPTZero also offers a more advanced detector scan for members paying a minimum of $12.99 a month. They provide an example of this advanced scan on their website using a preloaded piece of AI-generated content, which includes a sentence-by-sentence breakdown of the areas with the highest AI probability.
Key Takeaways
The level of detail and additional resources on GPTZero make it a fantastic tool to consider compared to many options on this list. However, paid accounts for advanced scans do come at a higher price point than some other providers.
Ahref
Ahref is another well-respected provider of SEO tools that, on the content-front, include everything from paragraph rewriters to emoji translators. Ahref has also entered the AI content detector arena with another free offering, but with a slight difference.
Instead of simply giving an upfront percentage result, Ahref’s tool both analyses and rewrites your content for you. Once you’ve pasted your original text, you’ll receive a short note on the likelihood that it was AI-written and a rewritten version which, incidentally, is AI-generated.
In theory, this is an interesting additional service, but the functionality of this feature is questionable for bloggers looking to check their content. For one thing, our human-written article pulled up a 70% AI-generated rating with no real context, an issue that’s reported in multiple reviews when assessing human-written pieces. Not to mention that, if you’re a blogger looking to step away from AI content, you won’t really benefit from this rewriting tool. Ahref also has stricter word limitations than other options, allowing you to upload no more than 300-350 words.
Key takeaways
Reviewers do generally report that, while often inaccurate when predicting human-written text, Ahref’s detector is generally able to highlight AI content with some reliability. As such, this could be an option if you want a quick, free detector tool that could also give you some ideas for improving the quality of your articles in an upcoming rewrite.
Scribbr
Scribbr is a well-respected name in the world of plagiarism checks, proofwriting, and citations. They’ve also branched into the AI world, with options like paraphrasing tools, grammar checkers, and their own AI detection tool.
Again, the free version of this tool has a simple-to-use interface, which requires users to insert a minimum of 80 words of text to get started. On the side of this text box is both a broad percentage amount of suspected AI content and a smaller percentage breakdown of suspected content origins. Uniquely, Scribbr also provides the opportunity to input text in a variety of languages, including English, French, Spanish, and German.
According to Scribbr themselves, their free tool has 78% accuracy, but that number goes up to 84% for their premium AI detector, which is available for paying users and includes a more detailed AI breakdown, as well as the inclusion of a free plagiarism check.
Takeaway
Scribbr is a solid contender for bloggers who want a quick AI check, especially if they’re working with guest posts in a variety of languages. Premium packages on this product might not be as in-depth as the other products on this list, but they do provide the addition of a plagiarism checker to ensure additional peace of mind if you need it.
Choosing the Right AI Detector: Things to Consider
As you can see from this list, many currently trusted AI detectors provide much the same benefits, albeit with differing levels of detail. Deciding between these options isn’t always easy, but you can ensure the right tool for your blog by considering factors like –
- How much does it cost?: Is there a free version, and how much would membership cost if you did want to pay?
- Why are you using it?: Basic percentages may be fine if you’re checking your own references, but you may require more detailed detection for, say, judging the reliability of a guest post.
- Which tool works for you?: It’s also worth considering which detector works within your existing tool suite. Do you want something compatible with your programs, or are you happy with simply pasting your text into an additional box?
Put Proven AI Detection Tools to the Test
There’s a growing need to be wary of AI-generated content in the blogging world right now, and each of these AI detectors can help to preserve content quality. Simply put the best of them to the test to see how they serve your unique blogging needs.
