Plagiarism isn’t just annoying, it can also wreck your online business. If you rely on SEO to drive traffic to your website or blog, you need to know how to check for plagiarism to avoid hurting your ranking and losing valuable leads.
Here’s how to check for plagiarism online – including AI plagiarism, plagiarism on Google Docs, Word, and more.
Skip ahead:
- 4 reasons why you should check for plagiarism
- How to check a paper for plagiarism
- How to check for plagiarism on Grammarly
- How to check for plagiarism Google Docs
- How to check for plagiarism in Word
- How to check for AI plagiarism and ChatGPT plagiarism
- How to check plagiarism for free: 5 of the best free and paid plagiarism checking tools
- 3 things to keep in mind when checking for plagiarism
4 reasons why you should check for plagiarism
If you’re posting content online, it’s essential that you check it for plagiarism before it goes live. Here’s why.
SEO ranking
Google and other search engines penalize sites with plagiarized content – so if your content contains plagiarism then it’s going to hurt your SEO.
Plagiarism can impact your SEO in a range of ways, including:
- Content quality: Search engines rank content based on quality, including accuracy, relevance, reliability, and originality. Plagiarized content is seen as low quality content, so it can harm the authority of your website – and its ranking.
- Duplicate content: Content that’s the same or similar to content on other websites can impact your SEO because search engines struggle to understand which page or site has more authority and is more relevant to searchers.
- Link quality: Your site SEO is also influenced by your link profile – or how many websites link to your webpage or website – and plagiarized content can impact the quality of links you receive from other websites, which can also harm your ranking.
Bottom line: plagiarized content is bad for your SEO so if you’re looking to get your website, blog, or content ranking better on Google and other search engines, you need to know how to check for plagiarism before you post or publish content.
Brand credibility
Plagiarism isn’t just bad from an SEO perspective, it can also harm your brand credibility in the eyes of your customers. Today, audiences are looking for more authenticity from the brands they buy from – and if your content is plagiarized, it’s going to hurt your reputation and even lose you valuable customers.
The combined hit to your SEO and brand credibility can lead to a drop in audience numbers and traffic to your site as your content becomes harder to find on Google and less appealing to your target audience. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Brand personality
The most interesting content is original and unique. Checking for plagiarism allows you to find not only plagiarized content but also generic and repetitive content that doesn’t convey your brand personality and unique brand voice.
If you suspect content to be plagiarized, it’s a good sign that it needs more work to make it feel and sound like your brand – an essential step to maintain the strength of your brand voice and keep your content engaging for your customers.
Copyright infringement
Plagiarism is also a problem from a legal standpoint – especially if your content is found to be violating copyright laws. While very few cases of plagiarism ever make it to criminal courts, you still run the risk of being sued and facing legal challenges. It’s worth taking the extra step to check for plagiarism to avoid the headache.
Checking for plagiarism is important for your SEO and brand credibility. But what are the steps to check for plagiarism? Here’s how to check for plagiarism – and the best plagiarism checkers on the market.
How to check a paper for plagiarism
If you’re looking for how to check a paper for plagiarism, you have several options to choose from – you can check a paper for plagiarism in different ways, depending on the document type, whether or not you suspect it’s been AI-generated, and whether you want to use a free or paid plagiarism tool to help.
Here’s how to check a paper for plagiarism using 4 different methods – and key things to remember when using a plagiarism checker.
How to check for plagiarism on Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the most popular free text-checker tools. Learning how to check for plagiarism on Grammarly is simple as it’s built to be easy-to-use and instant.
To check for plagiarism on Grammarly, follow these 3 steps:
If you’re using Grammarly for free:
- Open any document
- Copy the text you want to check for plagiarism
- Paste the text directly into the online editor
- Click the ‘Scan for plagiarism’ button
- Grammarly will automatically analyze the text for plagiarism
- Alternatively, click the ‘upload document’ button and select the document you want to check for plagiarism
If you have Grammarly Premium, Grammarly Business, or Grammarly for Education:
- Open any document e.g. a Microsoft Word doc
- Click the ‘Plagiarism’ button in the bottom-right corner of the screen
- Grammarly will automatically generate a Plagiarism percentage
- You can also see suggested citation data to help you to create a reference for the original source.
You can check for plagiarism on Grammarly for up to 300 documents or 150,000 words in a 30-day period, or up to 100 documents or 50,000 words in a 24-hour period on both free and premium accounts.
How to check for plagiarism Google Docs
If you’re editing a paper or piece of content on Google Docs and you want to check for plagiarism, there are 3 options for you to choose from.
Turn on originality reports
If you have a Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals account, you can use Google’s built-in plagiarism checking tool to check assignments.
Access the originality reports feature through Classroom and turn on originality reports for up to 5 assignments per course. Or upgrade to Google Workspace for Education Plus or get the Teaching and Learning upgrade to enable you to check for unlimited docs for originality.
Here’s how to check for plagiarism on Google Docs using originality reports:
- When you create an assignment:
- Turn on originality reports by going to your Learning Management System (LMS)
- Choose the course you want to use
- Create an assignment and select Google Assignments
- Tick the ‘enable originality reports’ box
- After getting student work:
- Go to your LMS
- Select the course
- Open the assignment you want to check
- Tick the ‘enable originality reports’ box
Things to remember about how to check for plagiarism on Google Docs:
- Use the automatic plagiarism checker: Google Assignments automatically runs originality reports for Google Docs or Slides. And if a student uploads a Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, Google Assignments automatically converts the file to a Google Docs or Slides file and runs an originality report.
- Run 3 reports per assignment: If you turn on originality reports for students, they can run 3 reports per assignment before they submit. Administrators can’t see the reports run by students.
- Keep plagiarism checks for 45 days: View originality reports for 45 days or run another originality report using Google’s grading tool to generate a new report.
Use Google add-ons
If you’re using Google Docs as an individual or you don’t have access to a Google Workspace for Education account, you can use add-ons to check for plagiarism in Google Docs.
- If you’re wondering how to check for plagiarism on Google Docs, simply open up the ‘Extensions’ tab from the toolbar and select ‘Add-ons’.
- Tap ‘Get Add-Ons’
- Search for ‘plagiarism’ in the search bar and choose from the range of add-ons available, ideally one with a high rating and large number of downloads.
- Select your add-on and then click ‘install’. You will see it pop up in the add-ons menu.
- Next time you want to check for plagiarism in Google Docs, highlight a selection of text and choose Add-ons, select your plagiarism checker, and click check selection.
The exact results of your plagiarism checker in Google Docs will depend on the add-on you choose – but generally they’ll be able to show you how much of the content is plagiarized and what, if anything, needs editing before you post or publish.
Use Grammarly
The third option to check for plagiarism in Google Docs is simply to use a free plagiarism checker as you would when checking any other document.
One of the most popular free plagiarism checker tools is Grammarly, which allows you to instantly scan text for plagiarized content and get a percentage estimate of how much of the content has been plagiarized.
- To use Grammarly, simply highlight the selection of text you want to check for plagiarism.
- Hit copy and paste.
- Then get the results.
- Alternatively, get the Grammarly browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge.
For more free plagiarism checkers, skip ahead to our top choices.
How to check for plagiarism in Word
The question of how to check for plagiarism in Word is an easy one to answer – the process of checking for plagiarism in Word is the same across Word for Microsoft 365, Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac, and Word for the web.
Word doesn’t have a built-in plagiarism checker, but it has a similarity checker that shows you how much of the content in your Word document is original. It also has tools to help you insert citations when needed.
Here’s how to check for plagiarism in Word:
- Open up the doc you want to check for plagiarism.
- Then select the ‘Home’ button and choose ‘Editor’.
- In the ‘Editor’ toolbar, find ‘Similarity’
- Click ‘Check for similarity to online sources’
- The Editor will run an automatic check and show you what percentage of your Word doc content matches other text found online.
- You will also receive the number of passages in the document you need to review.
- To review, click ‘Similarities reviewed’
- You then have the option to insert a citation
- If you don’t want to add a citation, tap ‘ignore’
- After a passage has been reviewed, it is underlined in green
As well as using the built-in similarity checker to check for plagiarism on Word, you can also use other plagiarism checker tools too. Check out the list of free and paid plagiarism checkers below.
How to check for AI plagiarism and ChatGPT plagiarism
The world of online plagiarism has changed dramatically thanks to the rise of AI tools that automatically generate written text and content. AI language models like ChatGPT are increasingly being used to generate text quickly and easily – but this content can be subject to plagiarism and can harm your SEO.
Here’s what you need to know about how to check for AI plagiarism – and how to avoid falling foul of duplicate content.
How to check for AI plagiarism manually
If you’re reading or editing content, you can check for AI plagiarism manually by keeping an eye out for some common traits and tells of AI-generated writing. While it’s not always easy to spot, there are some clear patterns that give away AI-generated content compared to human-written text.
Here are some clues to look out for:
- Incorrect information: One of the most obvious signs that content has been AI-generated is incorrect or outdated information – as many AI tools have been trained on limited data sets, they only have information up to a certain time. This is especially obvious when it comes to referencing current events or recent changes in your industry or field.
- Lack of originality: AI tools can mimic human writing, but they currently lack the originality and personality of most human-written text. You can spot AI content if it feels too formulaic, forced, or downright wooden.
- Repetitive language: AI-generated text also tends to include heavy repetition – you’ll be able to spot AI-written content because it will repeat the same phrases, words, and even concepts within the same text.
How to check for AI plagiarism using plagiarism detection tools
Thankfully, the rise of AI-generated content has been accompanied by a rise in AI-detection tools that sniff out text written by AI. Here are 3 top AI content detection tools to help you identify AI-generated content before you hit publish.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to check for AI plagiarism, Copyleaks AI Content Detection tool can detect AI-generated content with 99.1% accuracy. Whether you’re looking to avoid harming your SEO or make sure you’re preventing copyright infringement, Copyleaks generates a plagiarism report within seconds that can tell you exactly what content is human-written and what’s not.
Key features:
- AI plagiarism detection in over 15 languages
- Detects AI-generated content from popular LLMs including GPT-4 and Bard
- Highlights the specific text written by a human and written by AI
- Detects AI plagiarism and paraphrasing
- Includes GDPR compliance and is SOC2-certified
Pricing:
- Starts from $9.16 per month for 1200 pages of content, up to 250 words per page
Designed with content marketers, writers and SEOs in mind, Originality.ai is an ideal way to check for AI plagiarism so you can protect your site and only publish content that is human-written and original. This AI plagiarism checker has 99% accuracy on GPT-4 content and 83% on ChatGPT. It can also detect paraphrase plagiarism from human or AI-generated text.
Key features:
- Voted most accurate detection technology by WriterAccess
- Tailored to content marketers
- Add and remove unlimited team members
- Easily shareable reports
- No character limit
- Also provides readability score for content
Pricing:
- Pay-as-you-go: $30 one-time fee
- Subscription: $14.95 per month
If you’re looking for a basic AI plagiarism checker, WinstonAI helps you to immediately check your content for AI writing for free, simply by copying and pasting text into their online tool. WinstonAI is an industry-leading AI detection tool that works for ChatGPT, Bard and other LLMs. The free plan lets you check up to 2000 words per scan or opt for a paid plan for higher word limits and more features.
Key features:
- Advanced AI detection
- Generates a percentage for accuracy
- Scan documents, pictures, and handwriting
- Generate shareable reports on paid plans
- Email and chat customer support
- Scan up to 2,000 words for free
Pricing:
- Free plan: $0 per month
- Essential plan: $12 per month
- Advanced plan: $19 per month
How to check plagiarism for free: 5 of the best free and paid plagiarism checking tools
If you’re looking for a basic plagiarism checker that’s effective and easy-to-use, here are our top picks of the best free and paid plagiarism tools on the market.
Part of Grammarly’s suite of writing tools, the Grammarly Plagiarism Checker promises to test your document against 16 billion web pages, plus the ProQuest academic database. It can be used to check documents of up to 150,000 words. Grammarly is quick, simple and user-friendly, making it one of the most popular plagiarism detection tools around.
Pricing: Start using Grammarly for free. Subscriptions start at $11.66 per month.
With the power to check for plagiarism in over 15 languages, Duplichecker is an online plagiarism tool that’s tailored to writers, teachers, students, and bloggers. Upload multiple file formats or simply copy and paste your text into the plagiarism checker to get an instant plagiarism percentage score for your document.
Duplichecker also offers an AI detection tool so you can check for AI plagiarism too, as well as paraphrasing detection and a built-in grammar checker.
Pricing: Start using Duplichecker for free. Subscriptions start at $5 per week or $25 per month.
Originally created as an essay checker for students, Plagiarism Detector is a low-cost plagiarism checking tool that’s free to use up to 1,000 words. It doesn’t store, save, or sell your content so you can use the tool with confidence.
Pricing: Start using Plagiarism Detector for free. Subscriptions start at $5 per week or $20 per month.
Developed in partnership with Turnitin, Scribbr is a plagiarism detection tool that prides itself on its accuracy, especially when it comes to academic texts like dissertations and journal articles. It can also detect heavily edited texts so is good for flagging paraphrasing. Get your results in a downloadable report – but you’ll need to pay to see the full assessment.
Pricing: Start using Scribbr for free. For a full plagiarism report, costs start at $19.95 for documents up to 7,500 words.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive plagiarism checker and SEO tool, SEMRush is a solid choice if you own a blog or website. Besides their standard plagiarism detector, you also get access to a suite of SEO tools that you can use while you’re writing, editing and optimizing your content. And the plagiarism detector itself is specially designed for SEO writing too.
The SEMRush Writing Assistant is compatible as a plugin with Google Docs and WordPress, so you can check for content quality and plagiarism as you go. The tool also gives you a score for things like readability, SEO, and tone of voice.
Pricing: Subscriptions start at $129.95 per month for access to SEMRush’s suite of tools.
3 things to keep in mind when checking for plagiarism
Most plagiarism checkers only compare web content
Most of the plagiarism detection tools you’ll find online are types of text-matching software. That means they scan content that’s freely available on the internet and compare it against your content.
But many plagiarism checkers don’t check text against other types of content, including online content that’s behind paywalls or that requires a log-in to access, such as library databases and journals. They also don’t check content against other students’ work or content from physical books, for example, so bear in mind that they’re rarely 100% accurate.
They don’t account for citations
Many popular plagiarism checkers like Grammarly also don’t take citations into account when checking for plagiarism, so even if your text contains accurate attributions, it may still be flagged for plagiarism.
It’s a good idea to always go through and check what parts of the text have been flagged by the plagiarism checker to make a judgment on whether or not there is fair attribution to the original source.
Watch out for over 15% similarity
While the guidelines vary, as a general rule you should watch out for plagiarism of over 15%. If your plagiarism checker puts the similarities percentage of a document or paper at over 15%, then the document will likely need editing for more originality or you’ll need to add citations to make sure sources have been properly attributed.
Keep 15% in mind as your baseline when checking for plagiarism on Google Docs, Word and more.
Learn more about how to check for plagiarism and protect your IP
We’ve covered the basics on how to check for plagiarism – including plagiarism in Word, Google Docs, and AI-generated content. If you want to learn more about how to check for plagiarism, as well as how to ensure your writing and intellectual property is protected online, read this next: 14 Ways To Protect Your Intellectual Property (Online Course Videos & Content)
This article was originally published in December 2020, it has since been updated in October 2023.
