Since the emergence of generative artificial intelligence in our daily lives, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between the work of a human and that of a machine. This is particularly true in the creative and educational professions, where teachers and writing professionals are confronted every day with potential artificially-generated texts. Fortunately, there are now a number of tricks and key software programs that can help you determine whether an article has been written by a human or not.

In this article, we'll explain how AIs like ChatGPT work, what makes them powerful but problematic tools for the future, as well as tips and information on how to detect ChatGPT and more generally AI textes.

Summary :

How does ChatGPT work?

How to know if a text is generated by ChatGPT?

Why is it important to know how to detect ChatGPT?

Are there tools to detect ChatGPT?

How can AI checkers detect ChatGPT?

Recommendations for the ethical use of AI

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT, like all generative AIs, works using a Large Language Model (LLM), which enables the AI to analyze and predict the next word in a sentence. This is how generative AIs can produce written content based on a given context.

To analyze and predict correctly, the models are trained on databases containing millions of books, articles, texts and other sources on all kinds of subjects.

This thinking methodology and access to large databases, or more recently to the internet directly, enables these artificial intelligences to generate content on any subject with astonishing accuracy.

However, ChatGPT and other AIs still make errors of context, often going off-topic or hallucinating two pieces of information that have nothing to do with each other. These thinking biases are bound to disappear as AI companies improve their models.

How to know if a text is generated by ChatGPT?

On the writing side, generative AIs, although very proficient in this field, have several shortcomings that it is important to learn to recognize if you want to spot an article made by ChatGPT.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the main mistakes an artificial intelligence makes when writing a text:

Titles with capital letters (Camel case): AI will often generate titles with uniform capitalization for each word. This way of proceeding, very far from human writing, can be easily corrected, but the presence of such a practice is a very good indicator.
A text that is too perfect: Being a digital agent, artificial intelligence makes no typos, syntax, or grammar errors. Error is human, so the absence of mistakes even inadvertently should alert you to its origin.
A lack of personality and bias: ChatGPT is a model that has been trained not to hurt, harm, or offend the user. It is very difficult for it to be critical or to highlight flaws on any subject. In addition to this persistence of neutrality, generative artificial intelligence struggles to adopt a human tone, even though a good prompt can remedy this for a while, its bad habits will resurface quite quickly.
Frequent repetitions: When it comes to openings or conclusions, ChatGPT tends to repeat or use the same sentence structures multiple times within a single text. If you ask it to write a text on a specific topic, such as "chocolate cake," AI makes several iterations of this term in its expression.
Factual inconsistencies and "hallucinations": As mentioned above, AI models often try to piece all their information together, even if it means inventing links or new information. If you use GenAI for research or writing, be sure to verify its responses yourself.
Copy-paste errors revealing ChatGPT comments: A human error this time, some people forget to ensure they have copied the text correctly, which can lead to amusing situations where one can see ChatGPT's explanatory comment at the end of the paragraph.

Why is it important to know how to detect ChatGPT?

Although AI technologies offer numerous opportunities such as the automation of repetitive tasks, the acceleration of research or monitoring, and the generation of new ideas, they also disrupt our relationship with truth.

Today, it has become easy to create written, video, or audio content from scratch, using real information or inventing it entirely; these fake contents are called Deep Fakes. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2025, misinformation and disinformation rank among the top short-term risks that could fuel international conflicts. It is therefore crucial to detect ChatGPT and, more broadly, AI-generated content to assess its reliability.

The stakes in the educational context

In the educational field, detecting artificial work is essential to preserving academic integrity in schools and maintaining the mutual trust between teachers and students.

Students who might be tempted to let generative AIs write their assignments would thus penalize their peers while neglecting their own learning and skill development.
Professors, on the other hand, could apply a zero-tolerance policy towards these technologies, imposing severe sanctions at the slightest suspicion, which could also penalize students who are struggling.

Can we mix texts generated by ChatGPT with human writings?

Indeed, it is possible to revise the texts generated by ChatGPT, which adds subtlety and personality to the narrative. However, that doesn't make it a viable solution. What could be seen as a time-saver by the accelerated generation of artificial intelligence could actually delay you significantly if you have to rework each of its sentences. Moreover, many software programs can still detect ChatGPT text despite numerous modifications. Regarding the educational field, not mentioning the use of it can be considered academic cheating or even plagiarism, knowing that ChatGPT does not cite its sources.

Are there tools to detect ChatGPT?

With the rise of generative AI, many companies have decided to create solutions to enable writing and education professionals to detect content generated by ChatGPT or other AIs. Among them, Compilatio, a French company with 20 years of experience in plagiarism detection, offers solutions that guarantee the authenticity and integrity of texts.

Compilatio Magister+: Designed for teachers, this software offers detection of AI-generated content as well as simultaneous plagiarism checking and easily integrates with LMS applications.
Compilatio Studium: Aimed at students, allows them to detect similarities in their work while raising awareness about respecting academic integrity.
Compilatio Copyright+: For writing or publishing professionals, Copyright+ offers AI detection in multiple languages, as well as responsive support and simplified API integration.

How can AI checkers detect ChatGPT?

To ensure the detection of AI-generated paragraphs, detection software uses algorithms based on probabilistic models. In other words, they assess the probability that a text is artificially generated based on specific indicators and criteria.

Yet, despite being powerful allies in constant evolution, an AI Checker is not infallible. AI Detectors offer comprehensive analyses in no time, but you should consider the results of their assessments as a first opinion for a more in-depth evaluation on your part.

The main errors made by AI Checkers are the occurrence of false positives and false negatives:

False positives: The fact that a human text is mistakenly interpreted as an AI text.
False negatives: An AI-generated text revised by a human that bypasses detection.

Recommendations for the ethical use of AI

If you wish to leverage ChatGPT's capabilities in an ethical and professional framework, rely on these three pillars: transparency, verification, and collaboration.

Transparency: Don't hesitate to mention that you have used artificial intelligence and for what purpose: research, analysis, summarization, writing... On the other hand, ask your supervisor or teacher for permission if you are allowed to use AI and under what conditions.
Verification: Be vigilant in your verification of ChatGPT's or other AI's responses. Read the generated texts carefully, cross-check different sources to ensure their accuracy, and correct any potential inconsistencies or hallucinations of the AI.
Collaboration: AI is a powerful assistant, but it should not be a complete solution. By using ChatGPT effectively, you enhance your skill development, improve your writing, and learn to use artificial intelligence correctly.

ChatGPT and generative AI tools are powerful allies for students in their academic journey and for teachers in preparing their lessons. However, it is crucial to use them ethically, always verify the reliability of the information, and ask ChatGPT for sources when needed to avoid misinformation.

ChatGPT remains detectable thanks to AI detectors, which are regularly updated to keep up with new AI models.

Discover Compilatio AI Checker

You may also be interested in these articles:

How does ChatGPT work?

Does ChatGPT plagiarize?

Note: This informational article was partly written with the help of ChatGPT. The AI-generated content has been revised to verify the accuracy of the information, check the relevance of the instructions, and add further details.

Can we detect ChatGPT? Are AI-generated texts detectable?