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Will a funder know if I used AI?

Will a funder know if I used AI on my grant application?

Sometimes, and it depends on the funder. NIH says it uses detection technology to identify AI-generated applications, and it can act even after an award. Most private foundations have no way to check. Detection software is unreliable on its own, so what reviewers notice most is generic writing. A proposal built from your own program, data and voice reads as yours.

Last reviewed October 3, 2026.

What funders can and cannot tell

NIH
Notice NOT-OD-25-132 says NIH will use the latest detection technology to identify AI-generated applications. If AI use is found after an award, NIH may refer the matter to the Office of Research Integrity and take enforcement action.
Private foundations
In a 2024 Candid survey, two in three foundations were still undecided about AI-generated applications. One funder told Candid it did not have the resources or expertise to determine what is AI-generated.
Detection software
OpenAI withdrew its own AI text detector in 2023 because of its low accuracy. A 2023 Stanford study found that detectors flagged most essays written by non-native English speakers as AI-generated. Treat any score as a guess.
Reviewers
They read many applications in a round, so generic prose stands out. So do details that do not match the rest of the application, and citations nobody can find.

Making sure every proposal reads as yours

  1. Build it from your own material

    Your program descriptions, results, budgets and data are what make a proposal specific. A draft built from them describes your organization.

  2. Check every figure and citation

    Trace each number and reference back to its source before you submit. AI tools can produce citations that look real and do not exist, and a single one is enough to make a reviewer doubt everything else in the proposal.

  3. Keep your voice

    Rewrite anything that could belong to another applicant. Keep the details only your team would know: the name of the partner school, the month enrollment doubled, the reason the pilot changed course halfway through.

  4. Know the rule, and answer plainly if asked

    Check each funder's AI policy first, and be ready to say how you used it. Here is what to say.

Where Quillify fits

Quillify drafts from your own documents and shows you, at every step, what is still yours to do. Finding funders, checking eligibility and building the requirements checklist involve no writing at all, so they fit every funder's rules.

How each funder treats AI.

Who asks this most

The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.

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