Thousands of university students in the United Kingdom have been surprised to use it Cat And other artificial intelligence tools in recent years, while traditional forms of plagiarism have been a marked drop, a guardian survey can reveal.
An investigation into violations of academic integrity revealed nearly 7,000 proven cheating cases using AI tools in 2025-24, which is equivalent to 5.1 for 1,000 students. It was up 1.6 cases per 1,000 in 2022-2010.
Figures until the number can suggest that the number will increase again this year to approximately 7.5 cases proven for 1,000 students – but the recorded cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to experts.
The data highlights a rapidly evolving challenge for universities: try to adapt evaluation methods to the advent of technologies such as Chatgpt and other writing tools fueled by AI.
In 2019-2020, before the general availability of the generative AI, plagiarism represented nearly two thirds of all academic misconducts. During the pandemic, plagiarism has intensified because many evaluations moved online. But as AI tools have become more sophisticated and accessible, the nature of the cheating has changed.
The survey revealed that confirmed cases of traditional plagiarism increased from 19 per 1,000 students to 15.2 in 2025-24 and should once again fall to around 8.5 per 1,000, according to the first figures for this academic year.
The Guardian has contacted 155 universities under the law on freedom of information asking for figures for proven cases of academic misconduct, plagiarism and misconduct in AI in the past five years. Among these, 131 Provided certain data – although not all universities have files for each year or a category of misconduct.
More than 27% of responding universities have not yet recorded improper use of AI as a distinct category of misconduct in 2025-24, suggesting that the sector is still in taking the problem.
Many other cases of IA cheating may not be detected. A Higher Education Policy Institute survey in February 88% of students Used for assessments. Last year, researchers at the University of Reading tested their own evaluation systems And were able to submit work generated by AI without being detected 94% of the time.
Dr. Peter Scarfe, associate professor of psychology at the University of Reading and co-author of this study, said that there had always been ways to cheat, but that the education sector should adapt to AI, which posed a fundamentally different problem.
He said: “I imagine that those captured represent the tip of the iceberg. AI detection is very different from plagiarism, where you can confirm the copied text.
“It is impossible to simply move each assessment that a student takes in person. However, at the same time, the sector must recognize that students will use AI even if they are asked not to be detected. ”
Students who wish to cheat not detected using a generative AI have a lot of online equipment to draw: The Guardian Found dozens of videos On Tiktok Advertising Ai Paraphrasing and testing tools to students. These tools help students bypassing common academics detectors by the “humanizing” text generated by Chatgpt.
Dr. Thomas Lancaster, a researcher in academic integrity at the Imperial College of London, said: “When it is well used and by a student who knows how to modify production, abusive AI is very difficult to prove. I hope students always learn through this process. ”
Harvey * has just completed his last year of a diploma in business management at a North English university. He told the Guardian that he had used AI to generate ideas and a structure for assignments and to suggest references, and that most of the people he knows used the tool to some extent.
“Chatgpt came when I joined the university for the first time, and therefore it was always present for me,” he said. “I don't think many people use AI and then copy the word for a word, I think it's more generally to help think and create ideas. Everything I would withdraw, I would then come back completely in my own way.
“I know a person who used it and then used other AI methods where you can change and humanize it so that it writes AI content in a way that seems to have come from a human.”
Amelia * has just completed her first year of diploma in music in a university in the South West. She said that she also used AI to summarize and think, but that the tools had been the most useful for people with learning difficulties. “One of my friends uses it, not to write any of her tests for her or do anything, but to put them in her own points and structure them. She suffers from dyslexia – she said she really benefits.”
The Secretary of Sciences and Technology, Peter Kyle, said to the goalkeeper Recently, AI should be deployed to “level” opportunities for dyslexic children.
Technological companies seem to target students as a key demography for AI tools. Google Offer of university students A free upgrade of its Gemini tool for 15 months, and Openai offers discounts to students in the United States and Canada.
Lancaster said: “University assessment can sometimes seem useless for students, even if we, as educators, have good reasons to put this.
“There is often a suggestion that we should use more exams in place of written assessments, but the value of heart learning and kept knowledge continues to decrease each year. I think it is important that we focus on skills that cannot be easily replaced by AI, such as communication skills, human skills and giving students the necessary confidence to commit to emerging technology and to succeed in the workplace. ”
A government spokesperson said that he was investing more than 187 million pounds sterling in national skills programs and had published advice on the use of AI in schools.
They said: “Generative AI has great potential to transform education and offers fascinating growth opportunities thanks to our change plan. However, the integration of AI in teaching, learning and evaluation will require particular attention and universities must determine how to exploit the advantages and mitigate the risks of preparing students for jobs for the future.”
* The names have been modified.
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.