Grammarly Competitors Agree: Can't Repeat the Past? Of Course You Can!
Let’s talk about Grammarly for a minute. You know Grammarly: it’s been around for what seems like ever. When they built their platform, adding a plagiarism checker made perfect sense. Their target audience was primarily students who needed to make sure their papers weren’t accidentally copying Wikipedia.
But here’s where things take a turn. In rapid succession: Language learning models (LLMs) make AI writing tools a reality. Grammarly, already a leading writing tool, adds the functionality. Generative AI apps start spreading faster than outrage on Facebook, and they all look to the big name of Grammarly and think, “Hey, we need plagiarism checkers, too!”
When the market leader does something, it’s predictable that the smaller players downstream will follow suit. But maybe we should stop and ask whether what works for helping students detect plagiarism makes sense for professionals using AI to enhance their writing process.
What Is an AI Writing Tool?
Before we can get into the mechanics of an AI writing assistant, you need to know a little about Language Learning Models (LLMs). Think of LLMs as massive pattern-matching machines that have digested pretty much the entire internet. They're not actually "thinking" and they don't really "understand" you. They're just really good at predicting what words should come next based on what they've seen before.
You know how your phone is constantly trying to guess what word you're going to type next? As you type more of a word, it changes its guess based on your input. That's what LLMs are doing, but thousands of words at a time.
An AI writing tool is the fancy interface sitting on top of these LLMs. When you're using Grammarly or Type.ai, you're not really talking directly to the AI—you're using an app that knows how to ask the LLM the right questions to get results that make sense for its purpose.
There are a number of different LLMs available—the three most popular/well known of them are ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Each one has its own quirks, strengths, and limitations, and understanding these differences is key to getting the best results. Usually. In this case, the app running on top of the LLM understands those things for you.
It's like working with a translator. In Type, when you highlight text to edit, you can give Type Chat an instruction: Make this sound more professional. Type Chat then leans on the LLM (you can choose between ChatGPT and Claude) to get output that's closely aligned to your request.
The Problem With AI and Plagiarism Detection
Plagiarism existed long before AI. Not every plagiarist was caught, because no one could possibly have been expected to consume and recall all of the world's media. Until AI, because that's pretty much exactly what LLMs do.
With AI in the mix, we're not just worried about direct copying anymore. We're dealing with new tools that can rewrite existing content in ways that might technically be "unique" but aren't really original. Detecting plagiarism in AI generated content with an AI detection tool is a kind of snake-eating-its-own-head situation.
It remains important, though: Copyleaks found that nearly 60% of GPT-3.5's contained some kind of plagiarized text—from lazy rephrasing to outright identical text. Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism.
For writers of all kinds, and the businesses they work for, leveraging AI seems like it comes with some risk:
- Search Engines penalize duplicate content. And by "search engines," we mean "Google" specifically (the other engines penalize it, too, but no one is worried about visibility on Bing). In any case, their algorithms are pretty good at spotting content that's just rehashed from other sources. If your AI-generated content is too similar to existing material, your site's rankings could take a hit.
- Copyright concerns are real. Even if you're not directly copying content, generating material that's too similar to existing work could land you in hot water. The legal landscape around AI-generated content is still evolving, and it's better to stay on the safe side.
- Your reputation is at stake. In a world where authenticity is currency, being caught publishing recycled content is like showing up to a formal event with the same outfit as another person, with the price tags still on, while proclaiming you're a fashion icon.
The Best AI Writing Tool Doesn't Include a Plagiarism Checker
There's a reason we call it "artificial intelligence." As you saw a couple sections up, LLMs are not smart. They aren't really reasoning anything: it's all statistical. For reference, this is the scary tech that's coming for your job:
Which side of this conversation do you want to write for your blog? The one on the left is too concerned with telling you what it thinks you want to hear. The one on the right is only concerned with making readers laugh, and takes control to make it happen.
Type.ai is for Writers Who Want to Control Their Narrative
Look, we're obviously not telling you to dump AI. It's in our name. But we didn't make a tool to do your work for you. We made it for you to enjoy your work again. The content never stops, but that doesn't mean you can't.
Type's features are built for writers who want control over their craft, but maybe don't want to spend half their day pacing in their office wondering just what the heck to write next. Here's what makes Type different:
- You're in charge of the narrative. Our AI assists with structure, phrasing, and ideas, but you make the final calls.
- Focus on enhancement, not replacement. Type helps you write better, faster, and with more confidence. But we won't write for you because, let's face it, you're really very good at being you.
- Built-in writing workflows. From brainstorming to final edits, Type's features follow the natural writing process. Inline commands keep your hands on the keyboard. No more staring at blank pages or getting lost in endless revisions.
- Real-time collaboration with AI. Need a quick rewrite? Want to explore different tones? Type Chat is right there in your document, ready to help when you need it, and happy to stay quiet when you don't.
Everything contained in the previous four bullets points to a single theme: writers writing their work. There's no need to include a plagiarism checking feature for that use case. If you are running your drafts through one, then you didn't really write the thing, did you? If you did, you'd know if it were copied. And, actually, if you end up doing a plagiarism check, you still might not know it was copied. This post you're reading contains a few blatantly ripped off sentences. Grammarly's tool didn't pick any of it up. Neither did this site. Or this one. (If you do find it, give us a shout on X—@typedotai. Sorry, you don't win a prize)
The Real Solution? Better Writing Habits, Not Unintentional Plagiarism
We talk about AI writing tools and AI writing assistants interchangeably, and both of these phrases should do the work of letting you know that you are still the writer. You're putting your name on the work, right?
Builders don't drop their tools off at the job site and expect the hammer to be the foreman. Alexander Graham Bell didn't let his assistant make the first phone call. Why would you hand your living over to a tool or an assistant?
Take control. We bet you're just the type.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AI plagiarism?
Not exactly—but it can be. AI doesn’t “think” or “steal” in the way humans do. Instead, it predicts text based on patterns from vast amounts of data. The problem? Sometimes those patterns look a little too familiar. AI-generated content might technically be “unique,” but that doesn’t mean it’s original. If all it’s doing is regurgitating reworded ideas, is it really any better than old-school copy-pasting? This raises concerns about potential plagiarism, especially in academic settings where originality is crucial.
What are the best free plagiarism checkers?
If you’re relying on AI to do most of the writing, maybe the better question is: Why are you doing that? But if you must, tools like Grammarly, Copyscape, and Quetext are some of the biggest names in the game. These tools offer free plagiarism checkers and reliable plagiarism search capabilities to ensure your content is unique and meets academic standards. Just remember—they’re far from perfect. AI-generated text can slip through unnoticed, and even original content can get flagged for false positives. The real solution? Write your own stuff and trust your instincts.
Is ChatGPT plagiarism free?
Nope. ChatGPT (or any AI writing tool) is only as good as its training data. And maybe it’s not even as good as that. While it won’t copy-paste from a source verbatim most of the time, it can still produce content that’s eerily similar to existing material. It’s like playing telephone with the internet—things get reworded, but the essence sticks around. If originality matters, don’t just trust the AI. Take control and make the words your own, or use a plagiarism free online tool to ensure your content is unique.
