US students lead AI writing use, Turnitin report finds

Turnitin has released a report on student use of AI in written assignments and institutional oversight of AI in education. The findings show higher rates of AI-assisted writing in US higher education than in the UK and Australia.

Nearly one in five submissions from US higher education students, or 19.4%, recorded an AI writing score above 80%. That compares with 9.8% in the UK and 10.2% in Australia, based on Turnitin's analysis of submissions to its AI writing detection tools across the three countries.

Among secondary school students, the level was lower in all three markets, with submissions scoring above 80% for AI writing ranging from 5% to 6%.

The figures were drawn from a large dataset covering higher education institutions in the US, UK and Australia. The sample included 33 million submissions in the US, 2.1 million in the UK and 3.1 million in Australia between October 2025 and April 2026.

Classroom control

Alongside the student data, the report points to a shift in who is shaping AI use on campus. In a poll of 160 webinar participants, 48% said teaching and learning leaders were primarily responsible for implementing AI-related tools and systems at their institutions.

That put educators well ahead of IT and technology leadership, cited by 17% of respondents, and cross-functional committees, cited by 16%. The result suggests academic staff and teaching leaders are taking a more direct role in setting the rules around AI in coursework.

Turnitin drew its broader conclusions from qualitative and quantitative material gathered at more than 60 education events during the first half of 2026, as well as from analysis of student interaction with Turnitin Clarity, its AI writing transparency tool.

Educators are increasingly focused on seeing how students use AI during the writing process rather than only checking finished work. The report identified transparency, customizable assignment settings and support for different assignment types as the three main areas of demand.

That emphasis reflects a wider shift in how institutions are approaching generative AI. Rather than focusing solely on detection, universities and schools are deciding when AI should be allowed, how it should be disclosed and how far it should be integrated into teaching.

Policy pressure is also growing in the US, where some states have introduced rules requiring school districts to adopt formal AI policies or use centrally managed frameworks. Those requirements add weight to debates already under way over accountability, consistency and responsible use.

Demand for oversight

The report suggests many educators want more discretion over how AI is handled in individual assignments. That includes the ability to set assignment-specific rules and to distinguish between acceptable assistance and wholesale outsourcing of student writing.

For universities, the issue is not only whether AI appears in submitted work, but whether students are using it in ways that fit learning objectives. The data suggests that concern is sharper in higher education, where the incidence of heavy AI use appears materially above the levels seen in secondary education.

Turnitin has framed the issue as one of visibility for teaching staff. Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin, outlined that view in comments accompanying the report.

"Every educator I talk to wants the same two things: they want to see how their students are actually using AI, and they want to decide for themselves when it belongs in an assignment and when it doesn't," said Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin.

"Our job is to give educators the visibility and the flexibility to make that call in their own classroom," Chechitelli said.

Turnitin said it serves more than 16,000 customers across 185 countries and territories, giving it a broad footprint in schools, colleges and universities as institutions revise their approach to AI in assessment and academic integrity.