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AI Detection Tools Are Influencing Writing Styles as Writers Fear Being Falsely Accused of Plagiarism: Report

AI Detection Tools Are Influencing Writing Styles as Writers Fear Being Falsely Accused of Plagiarism: Report

Writers have reportedly started avoiding the use of em dashes in their prose, as AI tools are known to frame their sentences with them.

Written by Dhruv Raghav, Edited by Rohan Pal | Updated: 2 November 2026 12:27 IST

AI Detection Tools Are Influencing Writing Styles as Writers Fear Being Falsely Accused of Plagiarism: Report

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Nahrizul Kadri

AI-detection tools have led to the formation of a new hybrid language

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Highlights

Pangram reportedly flagged a hand-written piece as 100 percent AI-written
Writers have started avoiding using the word "delve" to avoid detection
Multiple writers have been accused of writing using AI tools

AI tools have transformed many lives, for better or worse. The water-thirsty and energy-hungry data centres are allegedly drying up groundwater and other freshwater reserves, while also consuming copious amounts of electricity to stay powered on. Recently, OpenAI's CEO also sparked a controversy by saying that RAM sticks belong to the AI data centres, calling those powering personal devices a “waste”. This particular aspect has created a shortage of DRAM and NAND chips in the market, pushing up the prices of most consumer electronics. Now, AI is also seemingly changing the way users write. According to a report, writers are changing their writing styles, fearing false plagiarism accusations.

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Citing multiple research reports and writers, Bloomberg reports that writers have started changing their writing styles and how they frame their prose because of AI detection tools. The report highlights the case of writer Mia Ballard, whose life took a turn for the worse after the Hachette Book Group dropped the plans to publish her book. The decision was reportedly made after the AI detection software, Pangram, gave her book, ‘Shy Girl', a 78.3 percent AI-written score.

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Ballard refuses the claims. She reportedly claims that the person who edited her book used AI for refinement without her knowledge. Later, Ballard self-published a novella, ‘Poly', which she wrote from a mental health facility after the AI-written controversy surrounding ‘Shy Girl', drawing racist comments online.

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Interestingly, Pangram detected that the first chapter of ‘Poly' was 100 percent written by AI, which the author alleges she wrote by hand. Similarly, the first chapter of her 2024 book, ‘Sugar', was also awarded an AI-written score of 83 percent by the detection software. In another novel, ‘American Teen Princess', Ballard reportedly “dialed back a bit with the poetic writing”, in order to sound more human. This time, Pangram gave a score of 37 percent, calling it a mix of human and AI writing.

This is one of various cases where AI-detection software has been dictating the way human beings write. Citing researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Bloomberg says that the use of the word “delve” spiked in human language after the release of ChatGPT. There have also been instances where writers have started avoiding the use of em dashes because AI tools are known to frame their sentences with them.

Calling these the “AI tells” or signature AI language, Nigerian author Jerry Falade reportedly said that one should avoid using these in their writings. Bloomberg highlights that Falade lost a multi-million-dollar book deal after he was accused of using AI to write it. AI-detection tools are reportedly the cause of the formation of a hybrid language, where writers are completely avoiding the use of AI, while also avoiding sounding like it. On the other hand, there are writers who are using AI and later humanising the text.

However, it is not just authors who have been surrounded by these AI-detection controversies. Multiple publications have fired their journalists who were allegedly caught using AI to write articles. There have also been instances where the editor of a tech news platform added a disclaimer to his piece after multiple people accused the article of being AI-written. While using AI for writing, especially creative writing, remains frowned upon, it is unclear how AI-detection tools could be optimised to avoid falsely detecting AI-written articles.

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Further reading: AI Detection, AI, Pangram

Dhruv Raghav

Email Dhruv Raghav

Dhruv Raghav is currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets360. He has previously covered the North American financial markets as a Headline News Correspondent for a major news agency. After taking a sabbatical to prepare for the Civil Services examination, he returned to journalism to cover tech policy, with a special focus on AI laws and online gaming regulation. Now, he is back in Gadgets360 to write features and edit stories. To unwind, he likes to spend time with his PS5, listening ...More