Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
There are a lot of free writing assistants on the Internet today, but is QuillBot one worth considering using? The best app is the one that works sufficiently for you, so it’s important to find one that checks all of your boxes. Let’s see if QuillBot has everything you need to succeed.
Keep in mind that QuillBot has a lot of AI-driven tools; moreso than most of its competitors. So, if you are interested in using AI tools, QuillBot might be worth your time to look into. I’m not a fan of AI-generated content, so I won’t be including most of those functions in the pros and cons list.
However, QuillBot has a lot of great features outside of AI content writing. In fact, I’m seriously considering making it my go-to for grammar and plagiarism checking, especially since it’s cheaper than alternatives.
What is QuillBot?
QuillBot is a writing assistant, as it provides a lot of tools to help you create a wide scope of content. This includes things such as a grammar checker, plagiarism checker, and even an AI content detector.
For those who need translations, images, or just to chat with an AI, QuillBot has all that as well. Essentially, QuillBot is a Swiss Army Knife for content.
Whether you’re writing something online or off, the app has you covered with various integrations.
10 Pros and Cons of QuillBot
Apps and Extensions
QuillBot not only has a Chrome extension you can install, but it also comes with add-ons for Windows, macOS, Safari, Edge, Word, Android, and iOS. However, I found the Chrome extension doesn’t work nearly as well as competitors. I’ll go over that in a moment.
Each add-on comes with its own level of functionality, such as being able to use QuillBot in Word, Outlook, Slack, WhatsApp, Notepad, and more through the Windows installation.
The extensive integration of QuillBot makes it a great choice for writers of all kinds. But keep in mind that it will use your account, so you’ll have to upgrade if you want deeper functionality. For instance, the free version of QuillBot will not scan your Word document for plagiarism.
AI Detector
The AI Detector tool in QuillBot is a nice touch. However, I found that it’s not the best determining factor for AI writing. In one test, it attributed my entire college essay as “Human-written,” (which it was), but says that 21% of my article is “Human-written & AI-refined.”
I assure you that I never use AI to write a single line of text or make adjustments to the content. This is 100% me, baby. So, I don’t think anyone should rely solely on what AI detectors “detect.”
In fact, QuillBot even mentions that you should “never rely on AI detection alone,” as it could easily provide false flags.
For one thing, AI is trained on our writing. So, of course, it’s going to find similarities that might be flagged as computer-generated. I just found the whole idea of the tool interesting, if not inaccurate.
The free version of QuillBot only scans up to 1200 words at a time for AI detection. Anything longer and you’ll have to cut it up into parts to scan.
Decent Grammar Checker
QuillBot has a grammar checker that works similarly to Grammarly and other writing assistants. It’ll scan through your work and highlight suggestions with various colored underlines. These underlines serve varying purposes for pointing out specifics that need to be addressed.
You can upload a file or check through 25,000 words at a time, which is decent if you’re just writing blog posts or college essays. If you’re writing a book, though, you’ll more than likely have to upload and scan one chapter at a time for clarity.
I also like how QuillBot has a scoring system under its suggestions, which includes: Grammar, Fluency, Clarity, Engagement, and Delivery. These are based on your word choices and often have an influence on how others will perceive the piece.
Language Translations
If you’re writing for others in a different country or otherwise need a translation of your text, QuillBot can assist with over 40 different languages. You simply enter your text, select the language, and hit the “Translate” button at the bottom.
Just for fun, I translated my intro for this blog post into German. Then, I took the German translation and put it into Google Translate. The end result was damn near perfect.
Keep in mind that languages are not one-to-one perfect copies of each other. Every culture uses words or inflections that don’t carry over the same way. So, no translation is going to be absolutely perfect, even if it’s from a human translator.
Citation Generator
If you need a citation generator, QuillBot has one built in that you can use for free. It works similarly to other citation generators, while also providing a way to edit in the event that the information doesn’t pull up correctly.
For example, there are times when the author segment of citing a website doesn’t pull correctly due to how the website sets up its meta information. You may have to edit the source in such an event.
Nonetheless, the feature is quite easy to use and gives you the option to copy or export the list. Although you can only export the list as a Word document, most writing platforms support them, so it’s not too much of a hassle.
I’ll have to add QuillBot to the citation generators post I wrote, as it works exceptionally well without the advertisements from a free platform.
QuillBot Flow Writing App
QuillBot Flow is a built-in writing app that has a few more features than just word processing. You can research as you write, cite sources, access a notes section, have AI review your text, and check for plagiarism.
However, the plagiarism checker is a premium service. You’ll have to upgrade if you want access to the plagiarism checker function. It is a shame, considering plagiarism is probably one of the biggest issues of today. Then again, that’s probably why QuillBot locked the feature behind a paywall.
The writing app works relatively well, and it’s especially useful as you can access a lot of the tools provided in QuillBot directly as you write. This includes the paraphrasing, summarizing, and translating features.
More Bang for Your Buck
Should you decide to upgrade QuillBot, you get a lot more functions for $99.96 per year than what a lot of other apps provide. Considering the sheer volume of what is included compared to other popular apps, QuillBot is easily the more cost-effective solution.
Even in its free version, QuillBot delivers more than what others provide. You simply get more functionality for what you pay overall.
And for all you AI lovers out there, very few writing assistants have as much functionality as QuillBot. For instance, I can’t find an AI image generator in Grammarly or ProWritingAid, whereas QuillBot comes with the tool. However, it’s a bit limited for free users.
Screen Shifts and Sticking
When testing some of the functions of QuillBot, the screen would sometimes shift if I scrolled down and then get stuck in its position. This means I couldn’t scroll back up once I got to the bottom of the page.
I’m hoping this has more to do with incompatibilities with the extensions I have running and not that the app is just broken. When testing, I had to reload the pages several times, which is kind of a pain when you’re working on a quick project.
Since I am unable to duplicate the problem consistently, it’s difficult to determine what is causing the problem. But it’s something you might want to keep in mind when trying the app out for yourself.
Plagiarism Checker is Premium Only
I understand that companies that develop tools such as writing assistants need to make money. However, the plagiarism tool is the only function on QuillBot that doesn’t have some kind of free version to test. All of the other functions are available, if not limited.
I point this out simply because there are free plagiarism checkers on the Internet. In fact, the term “free plagiarism checker” has over 10,000 searches per month, according to Google. Why not include a limited free version of a popular tool to get people in the door?
In any case, there are plenty of free working tools in QuillBot, and it’s not as expensive to upgrade should you want the plagiarism checker. It’s just a ranking factor for me when looking at writing assistants.
Chrome Extension Issues in WordPress
The Chrome extension for QuillBot was quite lackluster, in my experience. No matter what I tried, I could not get the extension to work right in WordPress. It’s disappointing as WordPress is the platform I use most often on the Internet.
I’ve disabled all extensions to ensure there wasn’t a conflict, I’ve restarted Chrome, and I’ve upgraded everything to the current versions, cleared the cache, and followed other suggestions I found on Google.
The Chrome extension just didn’t do much outside of launching the AI tool. Coincidentally, it took QuillBot an exceptional amount of time to pull up the AI functions when I double-clicked a word in the WordPress editor.
However, the QuillBot extension seemed to work in everything else, such as posts on various social media sites. Unfortunately, this is a deal-breaker for me. I use WordPress extensively and would rather have the functionality of Grammarly running.
The AI Tools of QuillBot
The free version of QuillBot includes several basic AI tools you can use for creating a wide range of content. Upgrading your account can expand what these tools provide, but the free versions work well for most situations.
Again, I don’t condone the use of AI to write text or create images, but I do see its value for things like data processing, translations, and summarizing to ensure the quality of the entire piece.
Plus, bouncing ideas off the chat portion is good for coming up with topic ideas as a blogger or YouTuber if you’re trying to build an audience. I just don’t let it write the post or scripts for me. That’s part of the fun for me and why I enjoy being a creator.
Humanizing AI Text with AI?
One of the more curious tools for me is using AI to make AI text sound more human. Um, why wasn’t that part of the AI writing experience in the first place?
Anyway, the Humanize AI lets you adjust the tone and flow of your text to better suit your needs while sounding like a human wrote the piece of content. Of course, a lot of the functions in this particular tool are locked behind the paywall, but the free version works well enough, I suppose.
I still feel it takes the personality and perspective of the author away from the content, but that’s an argument for another day.
AI Chat
The AI-driven chat function can apparently help with brainstorming ideas, generating product descriptions, generating interview questions, reviewing your resume, and much more.
I’ve used AI to help come up with ideas for videos based on traffic data, current interests, and viewer interactions through vidIQ. QuillBot works in a similar way, as it provides ideas based on how things are currently searched online. This is one function of AI that I can appreciate. It can crunch the numbers and trends far quicker than I can.
At the time of this review, the QuillBot AI Chat is still in beta stages. And it did give an error message at the end that it couldn’t complete my request. So, it’s definitely not a perfect tool. However, it can probably help with ideas for blog or video content based on current search data.
AI Image Generator
The AI Image Generator is another beta addition of QuillBot, but it works relatively well.
Again, I’m not a fan of using AI-generated images. Unfortunately, a lot of stock photo sites are filling up with AI nowadays. It’s getting almost impossible to find original graphics or photos.
You’re able to change the image style and aspect ratio to suit virtually any purpose, ranging from memes to YouTube thumbnails. On each image, you can view it in full screen or click to download the graphic directly to your device.
Unfortunately, the free version of QuillBot limits you to two generated ideas per day. This might be limiting to some uses. It could take quite a few tries to get a prompt just right for the AI to generate the image needed.
It’s a fun tool to play around with, but I highly doubt I would get much professional use out of it.
First Draft and Suggest Outline in QuillBot Flow
I was curious about the writing process of QuillBot Flow if you use the First Draft and Suggest Outline features. This is when QuillBot provides text or suggests how to set up a blog post, essay, or research paper.
What I found was that the AI was severely lacking in personality, ambiance, and emotion. It was like reading an IKEA manual written by Satan overdosing on tramadol right before bed.
I just don’t see how people could feel comfortable using this crap. Of course, most who use AI will inevitably edit the entire AI-generated text and call it a day. But apparently, there are people who will use whatever AI spits out?
Anyway, I would use the First Draft and Suggest Outline sparingly. In my case, QuillBot missed a lot of points for a blog outline, and the first draft of an essay was terribly put together. I’ve read text by 12-year-olds with better flows, to be honest.
Would I Continue to Use QuillBot?
As a whole, QuillBot has a lot of useful tools that I may use on a regular basis. For instance, I’m sure I would use the citation generator quite often, since I am currently working on my bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and then immediately moving into the master’s program.
I am interested in seeing the development of the AI Chat addition, as I’m always looking for ways to streamline content ideas for both the blog and YouTube channel. It works similarly to vidIQ’s AI Coach, which I use quite a bit to analyze the data of my channel.
The grammar checker works quite a bit like Grammarly’s, which I use often as a spellchecker on steroids. Although I never use the AI to write any sentences, some of the finer points of grammar are highlighted, which makes me consider whether to change the wording.
A real disappointment I have with the free version of the web-based QuillBot app is that the plagiarism checker is locked behind a paid account. Out of everything I’ve tested, it’s the only addition that is locked entirely from the free version of the app. At least the other plagiarism-checking tools were available, even if limited, in the number of words they could analyze.
Now, let’s move on to the biggest contributing factor: the Chrome extension. I use WordPress quite extensively, whether it’s for myself or clients. So, having access to all of the supposed features of the extension would be ideal for creating content. However, the extension simply would not work in WordPress, no matter what I tried.
I even spent about an hour on Google trying to find a fix to no avail.
I’ve since reached out to QuillBot’s tech support twice, looking for a solution. And if we can figure out the issue, I would have no problem updating this review. But as it stands, I’m not impressed and will not use the Chrome extension for QuillBot.
With that being said, the web-based platform of QuillBot works well, and there are a few tools that I’ll more than likely continue to use. In other words, I would vote “yes” to QuillBot’s primary page but “no” to the Chrome extension.
Is QuillBot for You?
There are a lot of writing apps out there, and you just have to spend a bit of time with their free versions to get a feel for what will work best for your needs. In this case, there are a lot of tools you can take advantage of, including the AI-generated stuff, should you feel the need.
Personally, QuillBot has a decent web-based application that has a lot of flexibility for content of all kinds. And if the Chrome extension works for you, that’s great. But since I can’t get the extension to work with WordPress, it’s a hard pass for me.
What kind of content do you write most, and does QuillBot look like something you’d use?
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