How AI Content Detection Works in 2026
AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude generate text by selecting statistically probable word sequences. This process creates detectable patterns — our detector flags two key signals that consistently differentiate AI text from human writing.
1. Burstiness (Sentence Variance)
Humans are unpredictable writers. Short sentences. Then very long, winding ones that expand on an idea. Then fragments. AI models produce sentences with unnatural uniformity in length and complexity. A low burstiness score signals high AI probability.
2. GPT-isms (Vocabulary Patterns)
Language models are statistically drawn to specific words: delve, tapestry, paramount, multifaceted, underscore, testament. These "GPT-isms" occur at far higher rates in AI text than in authentic human writing. Our detector highlights every instance.
Why Burstiness Is the Strongest Signal
GPT-ism avoidance is easy — simply instruct the AI not to use those words. Burstiness is much harder to fake artificially. Authentic human writing has a natural rhythm that emerges from personality, thought patterns, and emotion — not from a probability model. This is why burstiness remains the most reliable heuristic available without model-level perplexity access.
Limitations & Accuracy
No pattern-based detector achieves 100% accuracy. Polished human writing by non-native speakers can score as robotic; carefully edited AI output can pass as human. Treat results as probability estimates, not verdicts. Use them as a diagnostic starting point, not a definitive judgment.