To avoid accusations of AI cheating, college students are turning to AI

January 29, 2026

(NBC News) – NBC News spoke to ten students and faculty who described being caught in the middle of an escalating war of AI tools.

Amid accusations of AI cheating, some students are turning to a new group of generative AI tools called “humanizers.” The tools scan essays and suggest ways to alter text so they aren’t read as having been created by AI. Some are free, while others cost around $20 a month.

Some users of the humanizer tools rely on them to avoid detection of cheating, while others say they don’t use AI at all in their work, but want to ensure they aren’t falsely accused of AI-use by AI-detector programs. (Read More)