Can Perusall Really Detect AI? Read to Find Out

As AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly popular for academic assistance, many students and instructors wonder whether Perusall can detect AI content. This blog post dives into Perusall's capabilities, exploring its AI detection features, grading mechanisms, and tips for maximizing scores while maintaining academic integrity. Let's uncover the truth about Perusall and AI.

What Is Perusall?

Perusall is a social learning platform designed to enhance student engagement with assigned readings. Unlike traditional reading assignments, Perusall allows students to annotate texts collaboratively, respond to peers, and participate in guided discussions directly within the reading material.

Educators can assign books, articles, PDFs, or web pages, while students read, comment, and ask questions. Perusall tracks participation, encourages active reading, and uses algorithms to assess engagement and comprehension.

Can Perusall Detect AI?

Not directly, but through Turnitin.

Perusall itself does not have a built-in AI detector, but thanks to its new integration with Turnitin, it can now check student annotations and comments for originality which includes identifying AI-generated or plagiarized content.

Tips:

Humanized comments rewritten with Tenorshare AI Humanize can often bypass Turnitin detection by sounding more natural and less like AI-generated text.

How It Works:

• If your institution has enabled Turnitin integration via LMS (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), then your annotations will automatically be submitted to Turnitin.

• Turnitin will generate a similarity report that flags content matching:

  • Internet sources

  • Publications

  • Previously submitted student work

  • AI-generated text (if detected by Turnitin's AI writing detection tool)

    

    Tips:

    The platform's algorithms aren't perfect, and sometimes teachers review or manually adjust grades based on student circumstances.

What You Should Know:

• Instructors will see a small "T" icon next to your score if your submission was flagged.

• They can click into the "Turnitin similarity report" tab to view:

  • Match percentages

  • Original source links

  • Full report details

How Does Perusall Grade?

Perusall uses an automatic scoring algorithm that evaluates your annotations based on quality, relevance, and engagement.

Key Grading Criteria:

• Thoughtfulness: Comments should show your own thinking and genuine engagement with the material.

• Relevance to the Text: Comments must be anchored to specific passages.

• Engagement with Peers: Replying to classmates and asking questions boosts your score.

• Timeliness: Submitting before the deadline matters.

New: Turnitin Flagging Impacts Grades(Schools Enable Turnitin Integration)

• Duplicate or AI-generated comments may be flagged.

• Instructors can view the similarity report and choose to exclude flagged content from grading.

How to Get Full Score on Perusall?

To maximize your score and avoid plagiarism flags, You can follow these tips:

Do:

• Write original, thoughtful comments anchored to the reading.

• Use Tenorshare AI Humanize for more natural comment rewrites.

• Use AI tools like ChatGPT only for inspiration, not copy-paste.

• Paraphrase and add your own insights.

• Engage with your classmates by replying or asking questions.

• Submit your work before the deadline.

• Spread your comments out rather than clustering them in one section.

Don't:

• Copy comments from classmates.

• Paste AI-generated content without editing.

• Write vague or off-topic responses.

Bonus Tip: Use AI Wisely with Tenorshare AI Bypass

Tenorshare AI Humanize is a powerful tool that helps you humanize AI-generated content , making it more natural and context-aware. It also reduces the likelihood of receiving low scores when reviewing on the Perusall platform, making it ideal for academic environments.

Why Use Tenorshare AI Humanize?

• Makes AI content undetectable by AI detectors

• Enhances natural language flow

• Preserves meaning while adding personalization

• Ideal for students who want to use AI ethically and safely

Use it to refine your AI-assisted responses before posting them on Perusall to ensure they sound authentic and pass unnoticed.

Conclusion

Perusall cannot detect AI-generated content directly, but some schools integrate tools like Turnitin to identify and flag potential AI work. While tools like Tenorshare AI Humanize can make AI-generated text sound more natural, for best results, focus on providing thoughtful, authentic reviews.

FAQs

1. Does Perusall detect copy and paste?

Perusall itself does not directly detect copy-and-paste actions. However, if your institution has integrated Turnitin, your annotations may be checked for originality. If Turnitin flags your comment as copied, it may be excluded from grading.

2. What does Perusall track?

Perusall tracks various forms of student engagement, including:

• When and how long you read the material

• Where you highlight or annotate

• The quality and originality of your comments

• Interaction with peers' comments

This helps instructors assess your participation and understanding.

3. Can Perusall detect ChatGPT-generated content?

Not directly. Perusall does not have a built-in AI detector. However, if Turnitin is enabled, it may flag AI-generated or copied content, including that from tools like ChatGPT. To avoid issues, make sure your comments are original and reflect your own thinking.

4. Is Perusall graded by AI?

Perusall uses an algorithm to assist with grading based on criteria like completeness, thoughtfulness, and engagement. However, instructors can review and adjust grades manually. It's not purely AI-graded.

5. Does Perusall collect personal data?

Perusall follows strict privacy policies. According to their official statement:

• Only collects necessary personal data to deliver the service, avoiding unrelated data collection.

• Only shares data with your institution or trusted partners to help provide the service.

• Never sells your personal data or uses it for profit.

Perusall ensures that your data is handled securely and ethically.