Supported AI Detectors
Last updated: 2026-04-25
Five primary detectors plus optional extras. Each entry covers: API endpoint, auth, known accuracy issues, and the citation that documents the issue.
Contents
- GPTZero
- Originality.ai
- ZeroGPT
- Sapling
- Copyleaks
- Optional / extended detectors
- Why the spread matters
- Quick stats to drop in a reply
1. GPTZero
- Web: https://gptzero.me
- API docs: https://api.gptzero.me/v2/predict/text
- Auth:
x-api-keyheader. Free tier: 10k words/month. Paid from $9.99/mo. - Returns:
documents[0].class_probabilities.ai(0.0-1.0) plus per-sentence breakdown.
Known issues:
- Stanford study (Liang et al. 2023) included GPTZero in the cohort that flagged 61.3% of TOEFL essays from non-native English writers as AI. ESL bias is documented and reproducible.
- Inflates scores on technical / dense prose regardless of authorship.
- Will not run on text under 250 characters; gives unstable scores under 100 words.
Citation: Liang, W., Yuksekgonul, M., Mao, Y., Wu, E., & Zou, J. (2023). "GPT detectors are biased against non-native English writers." Patterns, 4(7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2023.100779
2. Originality.ai
- Web: https://originality.ai
- API docs: https://docs.originality.ai/
- Auth:
X-OAI-API-KEYheader. No free tier — $0.01 per 100 words minimum. - Returns:
score.ai(0.0-1.0),score.original(0.0-1.0).
Known issues:
- Marketed as "99% accurate" but multiple independent tests put real-world accuracy in the 60-80% range.
- Aggressively flags any text that has been edited by Grammarly or similar tools, since editing patterns mimic LLM patterns.
- Sergey's team meeting test (2026): scored a hand-written article 100% AI while GPTZero scored the same article 82% and ZeroGPT scored 50%. 50-point spread on identical text.
Citation: Internal CCC team test, March 2026 meeting transcript (projects/coactor/transcripts/); also referenced in Sergey Bulaev's April 2026 LinkedIn post on detector unreliability.
3. ZeroGPT
- Web: https://www.zerogpt.com
- API docs: https://api.zerogpt.com/api/detect/detectText
- Auth:
ApiKeyheader. Free tier: 5 requests/min. Paid plans available. - Returns:
data.fakePercentage(0-100 integer),data.isHumanboolean.
Known issues:
- Famously unstable — the same input pasted twice 30 seconds apart can return scores 20+ points apart.
- Flags US Constitution, Bible verses, and Declaration of Independence at 90%+ AI when pasted as plain text.
- Susceptible to trivial paraphrasing — adding two typos drops a 95% score to 30%.
Citation: Multiple replicated demos on Twitter/X 2023-2024; Vanderbilt University communication on disabling Turnitin (Aug 2023) cited similar instability across the detector category. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/brightspace/2023/08/16/guidance-on-ai-detection-and-why-were-disabling-turnitins-ai-detector/
4. Sapling
- Web: https://sapling.ai/ai-content-detector
- API docs: https://sapling.ai/docs/api/aidetect
- Auth:
keyfield in JSON body. Free tier: 50 requests/day. - Returns:
score(0.0-1.0), per-sentencesentence_scores.
Known issues:
- Tends to score lower than GPTZero/Originality on the same text — useful as a contrarian signal in the parallel test.
- Worse on creative writing than on technical prose.
- Does not handle markdown — strip formatting before sending.
Citation: Sapling's own published benchmarks (https://sapling.ai/ai-content-detector/benchmark) acknowledge ~3-5% false positive rate even in their best-case dataset.
5. Copyleaks
- Web: https://copyleaks.com/ai-content-detector
- API docs: https://api.copyleaks.com/documentation/v3/writer-detector/submit
- Auth: 2-step. POST to
/v3/account/loginwith email + key, get bearer token, then POST to/v2/writer-detector/{scanId}/check. - Returns:
summary.ai, which Copyleaks has documented both as a 0-1 probability and as a 0-100 percentage.test_detectors.pynormalises either shape and rejects anything that still falls outside 0-100. Per-paragraph breakdown alongside it.
Known issues:
- Adelphi University used Copyleaks-style detector output as the sole evidence in the case that became Newby v. Adelphi University (Oct 2025). Federal court ordered the violation expunged.
- Heavily penalizes formal academic writing regardless of authorship.
- Unstable across re-submissions of the same text.
Citation: Newby v. Adelphi University, U.S. District Court (E.D.N.Y.), October 2025. Coverage: Inside Higher Ed, "Court Orders University to Drop AI-Cheating Charge" (Oct 2025).
Optional / extended detectors
None of these have a free API, so the script cannot call them. Run them by hand and enter the
scores with --manual; there is no --extra flag.
- Turnitin AI Writing — disabled by Vanderbilt, Cambridge, others. No public API; institutional only.
- Winston AI — https://gowinston.ai. Paid only.
- Crossplag AI — https://crossplag.com. Paid only.
- Writer.com AI Content Detector — free web UI, no API. Use
--manualmode. - Scribbr AI Detector — free web UI, no API. Use
--manualmode.
Why the spread matters
OpenAI shut down its own AI Text Classifier in July 2023 with this public statement: "low rate of accuracy" — internally measured at 26%. If the company that ships the model cannot reliably detect its own output, no third-party detector built on weaker signals can be trusted as ground truth.
Reference: OpenAI blog, "New AI classifier for indicating AI-written text" (Jan 31, 2023), updated July 2023 with discontinuation notice.
Quick stats to drop in a reply
- 61.3% — TOEFL essays by ESL writers misclassified as AI by 7 detectors (Stanford 2023)
- 5.1% — same detectors' false positive rate on US 8th-grade essays (Stanford 2023)
- 26% — OpenAI's own classifier accuracy before shutdown (July 2023)
- 50 points — spread observed on a single article in CCC team testing (2026)
- 0 — number of US courts that have upheld a "detector said so" finding without corroborating evidence as of April 2026