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Check whether an email was written by AI

Yes, Winston AI can check an email for AI writing if the message has at least 80 words. Paste the body without signatures or quoted replies to get a human score; paid plans add sentence highlights. Short emails give any detector little to judge, so focus on longer messages, newsletters and outreach, and treat the score as evidence, not proof.

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Key facts

What changes when you check emails

  • Most emails are short

    A quick reply or a two-line follow-up is below the 80-word minimum, and short messages give any detector little to go on.

  • Email is full of stock phrases

    'I hope this finds you well' and 'let me know if you have any questions' were common long before AI tools. Boilerplate like this tells you very little either way.

  • Threads mix several writers

    Quoted replies, forwarded messages and signatures add other people's words. Check only the new message.

  • Templates are written once and sent many times

    Sales sequences and support macros may have been drafted by anyone, with or without a tool, and then personalized with a name. Judge the template, not each send.

How to check emails

  1. Step 1: Copy only the new message

    Leave out the signature, legal disclaimer, quoted thread and any forwarded text.

  2. Step 2: Check messages of 80 words or more

    Longer emails, newsletters and proposals give a far clearer result than quick replies.

  3. Step 3: Read the highlights

    See which sentences are highlighted. Personal details and specific references usually read as human; generic praise and filler often don't.

  4. Step 4: Check outgoing copy before it ships

    Teams can check newsletters and outreach templates before sending, so the brand doesn't sound like everyone else. See our page for [marketers](/for/marketers).

Email is where a lot of AI writing ends up: cold outreach, customer replies, weekly updates and newsletters. Winston AI scores how machine-like a message reads, and paid plans highlight the sentences behind the score, so you can see whether it sounds like the person who sent it. This page covers the limits of checking short emails and when a check is worth running.

When it's worth checking an email

  • Applications, proposals or pitches that arrive by email and will be judged on their writing.
  • Newsletters and announcements you publish under your own name or brand.
  • Outreach and support templates that will be sent many times.
  • Your own drafts, when you want to be sure a message sounds like you.

Using AI to write email isn't wrong

Plenty of people draft emails with AI help, and in most workplaces that's fine. A check is most useful when authorship matters, such as an application, or when you want your own messages to keep a personal voice.

Questions about checking emails

Still unsure? Browse our guides or ask our team.

Can you tell if an email was written by AI?

Often, if it's long enough. Winston AI can score an email of 80 words or more, and paid plans highlight the sentences that read as machine-written; very short messages are hard for any detector to judge.

Why does my email come back as too short?

Texts need at least 80 words to be scored. Check longer messages, or several of the same sender's emails together.

Does it work on email newsletters?

Yes. Newsletters usually have plenty of prose, which makes them a good fit for a check.

Can I check emails written in Spanish or French?

Yes. Winston AI supports 14 languages, including Spanish and French, and detects the language automatically.

Is an AI-written email a problem?

Not necessarily. Many people draft emails with AI help. A check matters most when authorship is part of what's being judged, such as an application or a pitch.

Check other kinds of writing

Check your emails now

Paste the text for an overall AI score. Sign up free to keep your reports, and upgrade to see which sentences read as machine-written.

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