You cannot tell for sure whether a tool wrote an application, and you do not need to. What you need to know is whether the person can help your customers, in real time, in their own words. So treat written answers as a first look, and put more weight on a timed work sample built from your own customer situations, and on a short call.
The signs below are worth noticing. None of them is proof. Each one is a reason to look closer or to ask a question.
Signs worth a closer look
Generic answers that would fit any job
Read an answer and ask yourself: would this fit a bank, a dental office and a software company equally well? If yes, it tells you very little.
"I am passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences and thrive in fast-paced environments" could be sent to any employer. It never mentions your customers, your product or the question you asked.
A real answer usually has something specific in it. It names a situation, a step or a choice. A short, plain answer with one real detail beats a long, smooth answer with none.
Answers that do not match the form
Compare the answers with the rest of the application. Look for:
- Years of experience in the answers that do not appear in the work history.
- An answer to a different question than the one you asked.
- Another company's name, or a job title you are not hiring for, left in by mistake.
- Placeholder text such as "[Company Name]", or a line like "Here is a professional answer."
- Two or more applicants with the same unusual wording, or the same phone number or email.
Any one of these can have an innocent cause. People reuse cover letters. Friends apply together. But a pattern is worth a question.
Perfect writing in the form, different writing in a timed chat
This is often the most telling sign. An applicant writes long, flawless answers in the untimed form. Then, in a timed customer chat, the replies are short, full of errors, or in a completely different style.
Some drop under time pressure is normal. Everyone writes faster and rougher when a customer is waiting. What you are looking for is a gap so big that it reads like two different writers.
Why a timed work sample matters more than catching tools
Trying to catch tools is a losing game. There is no reliable way to know for sure whether a piece of text was written by software. A guess is still a guess, and it can be wrong in both directions.
A timed work sample sidesteps the question. The job is answering real customers, quickly, in your kind of business. So test exactly that:
- Use situations from your own work. A patient asking to move an appointment. A customer charged twice. A caller who wants a refund you cannot give.
- Give each task a time limit that matches the real job. Live chat customers do not wait while someone copies their message into another program and back.
- Judge the reply as a whole: did they solve the problem, stay kind, and follow your rules?
Specific situations also make generic answers stand out. A smooth paragraph about "exceptional experiences" does not answer "I was charged twice and I want my money back today."
HireFlow works this way. In a customer service job, the steps after the application form are a skills check of five multiple-choice situations from the business's kind of work, each timed at 75 or 90 seconds, and a customer chat practice where typing speed and reply time are measured as they write. The aim of steps like these is not to catch anyone. It is to see each person's own work under the same conditions as everyone else.
Be fair
A sign is a reason to ask, never a reason to reject.
Good writers are not cheaters. Many applicants write excellent English. Some spent an evening on their answers. Some used a spell checker or asked a friend to read them over. A polished answer is not a fake answer.
Nerves are real. Some people write worse with a clock running, or on a slow connection. A weaker timed chat is a question, not a verdict.
Never reject on a guess. If you suspect something, ask about it on the call. Let the person show you what they can do.
Use one rule for everyone. Apply the same checks to every application. Never decide someone is suspicious because of their name, their country or their accent.
Say your rules up front. Decide what you allow, and tell applicants before they start. For example: "You may use a spell checker. Please write your answers yourself." Then judge people against what you said, not against a rule they never saw.
What to ask on the call
The call is where most doubts get settled, one way or the other.
Ask about their own answers. "In your answer about the double charge, you offered a refund right away. Why that, and not a store credit?" Someone who wrote the answer can usually explain the choice. Someone who did not may find that hard.
Give a new situation out loud. "A customer says they have been waiting a long time and wants a manager. What do you say first?" You are listening for how they think, not for a perfect script.
Ask about details in their work history. What tools did they use? How many chats did they handle at once? Ask them to describe a customer who stayed upset no matter what they tried. Real experience tends to come with real details.
For phone roles, listen closely. The call is where you hear them speak. Are they clear, calm and easy to follow?
Ask directly, and kindly. "Did you use any tools for the written part?" If the answer fits the rules you set, that is fine. An honest answer here is a good sign.
Know who you are talking to. If you can, turn video on for part of the call, so you know you are speaking with the person who applied. Ask for ID or papers after the hire, as you would for anyone you hire.
In short
- You cannot prove a tool wrote something, so do not build your process around trying.
- Notice generic answers, answers that do not match the form, and big gaps between untimed and timed writing.
- Treat every sign as a question, never as proof.
- Rely on a timed work sample built from your own customer situations.
- Good writers are not cheaters. Never reject anyone on a guess.
- Use the same checks and rules for everyone, and tell applicants the rules first.
- On the call, ask about their own answers, give a new situation, and ask about real details.