AI Detector for Grant Proposals
Updated
An AI detector for grant proposals gives applicants and research offices a second look at narrative sections before submission. Paste a section of 300 words or more, such as specific aims or a project narrative, to get a probability that it reads as AI-generated and see which sentences drive the score.
Limitations: Every result is a probability that can be wrong, not proof of how something was written. How results can be wrong →
3 free scans in total, shared across all five tools (not per day or per month). No signup needed to start.
Why an AI Detector for Grant Proposals Matters Now
Funders are setting rules on generative AI. NIH notice NOT-OD-25-132, released in July 2025, says applications substantially developed by AI will not be considered original and may be deemed non-compliant. Other funders have their own policies, and they are not all the same.
A detector can't tell you whether a funder will judge your use acceptable. It can show which passages read most like generated text, so you can review them against the funder's rules before you submit.
What to Check
- Narrative sections: aims, significance, approach and project summaries are long enough to check.
- Not budgets or forms: tables, budgets and biosketch lists aren't prose and won't give meaningful results.
- Each section separately: results are easier to act on when you know which section a flagged sentence came from.
- Within the limits: up to 150,000 characters per check; upload a .docx or .pdf up to 8 MB if that's easier.
For Research Offices
Pre-award teams reviewing many applications can use a score to start a conversation with an investigator, never as a finding. Grant writing is formal and formulaic, and scientific prose often scores higher than its authors' actual AI use would justify.
Keep the funder's own wording at hand. If a policy targets applications "substantially developed" by AI, light language editing may be treated differently from generated aims, and that is a judgement for people, not a detector.
Privacy and Confidential Ideas
Unpublished research ideas are sensitive. Text you check is sent to the detection provider named on the How It Works page, and signed-in history keeps the first 200 characters. Decide whether that is acceptable for your proposal before uploading it.
Frequently asked questions
We don't know NIH's internal process. Its notice NOT-OD-25-132 says applications substantially developed by AI will not be considered original; read the notice for the exact rules.
Up to 150,000 characters per check. Checking narrative sections one at a time gives clearer results.
That depends on the funder. Many policies focus on substantial AI development of the content rather than spelling or grammar help; check the funder's own guidance.
The text is sent to the third-party detection provider listed on How It Works, and signed-in history keeps the first 200 characters. Weigh that before uploading unpublished ideas.
Sources
- NIH NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications (summary) (University of Utah Office of Sponsored Projects, read on )