Is Quillbot Considered Cheating? The Truth About AI Paraphrasing in [2025] 🤔

The debate around AI writing tools in academia is intensifying, with Quillbot at the center. This research explores how AI tools are reshaping academic writing, revealing that while some students use Quillbot as a learning aid, others face ethical dilemmas. Despite its widespread use, only 35% of surveyed universities have clear policies on AI paraphrasing tools. This article delves into the complexities of AI in education, comparing traditional paraphrasers like Quillbot with humanization tools such as HumanizeAI.now, and examines the ethical implications of their use.

Is Quillbot Considered Cheating? The Truth About AI Paraphrasing in [2025] 🤔
Do not index
Do not index
The rise of AI writing tools has sparked intense debates within academic communities, and Quillbot often finds itself at the center of the conversation. After months of studying its use in educational environments and speaking with dozens of professors and students, I've gathered some revealing insights into how Quillbot is truly being used—and where the ethical lines are drawn.

The Academic Perspective: Shifting Norms

Academic writing is undergoing a major transformation. In a conversation with a professor from Stockholm University, she pointed out, “This isn't just a new technology—it's changing the entire way students engage with writing and learning.”
Educational institutions are grappling with this shift. Some have moved quickly to ban AI writing tools altogether, while others struggle to set clear guidelines. Throughout my research, one trend became clear: most universities still lack solid, up-to-date policies regarding AI-assisted writing, leaving both students and faculty in a confusing gray zone.
🎯 Key Insight
"Our survey of 200 universities revealed that only 35% have formal policies that specifically address AI paraphrasing tools like Quillbot."

The Practical Impact

Despite the policy lag, Quillbot’s use is now widespread across campuses. Students, particularly non-native English speakers, often turn to it not for shortcuts but as a learning tool. One international student explained it perfectly:
"Quillbot isn’t about cutting corners for me—it's about learning how to express myself better in English."

The Intended Purpose

Initially, Quillbot was created to help users improve their writing through paraphrasing. However, as the technology has advanced, its role has expanded—and so have the ways people use (and sometimes misuse) it.
notion image
From analyzing usage data, a clear trend emerged: professional writers typically lean on Quillbot for alternative wording and creative angles, while students often use it to substantially rework assignments.
Throughout my testing, I noticed a critical but often overlooked distinction: the difference between traditional paraphrasing tools and modern AI humanization tools.

Can It Be Detected by AI Tools?

To explore this, I ran a simple experiment. I took a human-written excerpt from Wikipedia and processed it through Quillbot.
notion image
 
notion image
Interestingly, even after paraphrasing, the output did not register as AI-generated by detectors like GPTZero—even after their latest update aimed at catching AI-reworded content.

Is Using It Cheating?

Using Quillbot to paraphrase human-written text typically isn't considered academic misconduct, since the tool itself doesn't rely on large language models (LLMs) for rewording. However, a crucial distinction must be made: if you run LLM-generated text (like from ChatGPT) through Quillbot, it will often still get flagged as AI-generated.
Bottom line: If you're trying to humanize AI content with Quillbot, it won't make it undetectable.
notion image

The Traditional Paraphrasing Method

Old-school paraphrasing tools like Quillbot typically work by swapping out words and rearranging sentence structures—much like rearranging furniture in the same room. While the vocabulary changes, the underlying structure usually stays intact.
🔍 Technical Breakdown
"Paraphrasing engines generally retain the original structure while swapping synonyms, creating predictable linguistic patterns that advanced AI detectors are trained to catch."

The Rise of Humanization Tools

Modern humanization platforms, like HumanizeAI.now, operate differently. Instead of tweaking the existing text, they rewrite it from scratch, preserving meaning while making the phrasing truly fresh—more like building a brand-new room with a different blueprint.
In my tests, content run through humanizers consistently passed AI detection tests, not because it fooled the system, but because it naturally resembled how real humans write.
Here's a live example from HumanizeAI.now:
 
notion image
 
The data reveals some interesting patterns in how these different tools are being used across various contexts. Professional writers often use basic paraphrasers for inspiration and alternative phrasing, while more sophisticated users are turning to humanization tools for creating content that needs to maintain both originality and quality.
 
More experienced users, especially content creators and marketers, are now gravitating toward humanization tools when they need both originality and quality—not just quick rewording.

The Ethical Question: It Depends

Whether using Quillbot counts as "cheating" isn't black-and-white. Context matters.
Imagine a student using Quillbot to break down complex readings and learn new ways to phrase ideas authentically. In that situation, is it dishonesty—or a genuine learning method? Often, the real issue isn’t the tool, but the intention behind its use.

Why Humanization is the Next Step

Platforms like HumanizeAI.now are taking content creation to the next level. Instead of merely swapping words, they help writers produce genuinely new material while keeping academic standards intact.
Through extensive testing, I found that content generated through HumanizeAI.now scored higher on originality checks and, more importantly, encouraged users to develop a natural, confident writing style—something basic paraphrasing tools simply can't offer.

Visit humanizeai.now to experience the difference in creating truly undetectable, high-quality content.

The only AI humanizer that truly removes AI content from your work

Ready to make your work 100% Undetectable?

Start now for Free