CiteTrue

Most AI detectors read the prose and guess who wrote it. CiteTrue, a free AI detection tool for academic work, checks the references instead.

CiteTrue is a citation checker that searches authoritative academic databases to confirm the sources in a paper are real and accurately cited, and it flags any that look fake or AI-generated.

That focus matters because language models are known to invent plausible-looking references.

Researchers and students can run a bibliography through CiteTrue before submitting or publishing, and anyone who has to back up academic integrity gets a reference list that can be checked.

The service is completely free.

The scope is narrow.

CiteTrue does not rewrite text or score writing style, so you would pair it with other tools if you need that.

For a quick sanity check on a reference list, a free checker like this is an easy first step.