Turnitin Data Shows Transparency About AI Use Benefits Students And Educators

New insights show an increase in AI-generated writing by students, along with a high demand for
feedback and responsible use

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Turnitin, a leading provider of learning integrity solutions, announced that data from the latest version of its AI detection tool indicates that since October 2025, approximately 15%¹ of essay submissions had greater than 80% AI-generated writing, up from an average of 3%² when Turnitin launched its original version of the AI detector in April 2023. The increase reinforces the need for clear policies around responsible use of AI in education.

"The reality is students and educators alike are craving clear guidance on when and how to use AI," said Chris Caren, CEO of Turnitin. "Through our writing transparency tool Turnitin Clarity, we've gathered months of insights into how students are engaging with our AI assistant, and it's clear they are hungry for feedback during the writing process. With educators under increasing pressure to do more with less, we are dedicated to building solutions that make assessing the process and the final product easier for today's educators."

Indicating whether AI was used is a first step, but the next step is teaching students responsible use of AI within an assignment. To support this effort, Turnitin announced insights on student prompting from its Clarity product, which brings transparency and responsible use of AI to the writing process. It tracks the process from start to finish, allowing educators to turn on an AI assistant that helps, but refuses to write for, the student. It also checks for AI-generated writing and any copy-pasting from the internet and other student papers, as well as simplifying the assessment process for the educator.

Meeting the complex needs of the moment, Turnitin also released new insights on how students interact with its AI assistant (with guardrails) and educator feedback on AI's potential to appropriately support students during the writing process.

Through the first three months of Turnitin Clarity use, Turnitin spotted trends in student prompting, including:

• Students are hungry for feedback during the writing process: Nearly a third (29%) of prompts reviewed across two months of Clarity use by students were asking for review, judgment, or other general feedback.
  • "Is this good?"
  • "Is this a strong conclusion?"
  • "What can I fix?"
• Students want to ask original questions, not pre-written prompt suggestions: 94% of students wrote their own prompts, instead of using the tool's pre-written prompt suggestions like, "Identify one element of this assignment's expectations, or one rubric criterion, that I should address first for my paper. Give me a list of feedback aligned to this criterion."
• There's an opportunity and need for students to learn a new skill: effective prompting: Across categories of request, student prompts lack specificity, constraint, or clear goals (key elements of effective prompts, according to institutions such as MIT and Teacher's College.). Generic questions, lacking specificity, were over half of the prompts in the sample.
  • Only a third of the prompts (36%) in the feedback category were considered effective, because they included details and context, clear goals and/or parameters, and/or demonstrated metacognition and an iterative learning process.

Educators using Turnitin Clarity noted that the AI Assistant improved the writing process for both educators and students.

• Saves time: The AI assistant helps handle the constant stream of feedback questions students often have, from proper citation to style and structure. This frees up time and allows educators to focus on higher-level teaching, by answering questions they were not always available to address immediately.
• Improves feedback and guidance: Rather than having to rely solely on instructor availability to answer questions, students can receive immediate guidance from the Turnitin Clarity AI Assistant, improving consistency and timeliness of feedback throughout the assignment.
• Encourages responsible AI use: Instructors also reported their students find the AI assistant helpful and appreciate being shown how to use AI responsibly, rather than being told that all AI use is cheating.

By moving the focus from detection to transparency, Turnitin is helping educators establish a positive, responsible framework for AI that ensures technology enhances learning integrity, rather than undermines it.

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About Turnitin
Turnitin stands with educators and institutions as champions of learning integrity who understand the enduring value of education in a rapidly changing world. As a global company with more than 16,000 customers in 185 countries and territories and more than 25 years of experience working closely with educators, Turnitin designs every product it builds to address timely needs in today's learning settings. From integrity solutions offering transparency in the writing process to delivering secure high-stakes and course assessments, Turnitin provides educators and researchers with the tools they need to navigate responsible use of AI in education and the learning experience. Learn more at turnitin.com.

¹ Turnitin found that an average of 14.8% of English language submissions to its latest version of the AI detection tool had 80% or more AI-generated writing between October 2025 and February 2026.

² Between April and August 2023, Turnitin found an average of 3.3% of English language submissions to its original AI detection tool with 80% or more AI-generated writing.

SOURCE Turnitin