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Draftback Chrome Extension Alternatives and Review

The Draftback Chrome extension may soon be retired as it no longer follows Google's Chrome extension best practices. So, we've compiled a list of the best Draftback alternatives.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

While advancements in AI and technology can be beneficial in many ways, one of the biggest drawbacks is establishing digital authenticity.

With generative AI on the rise, many still use it in place of human writing (despite academic ramifications and Google Search penalties). So, it’s crucial to have a tool on your side that offers as much digital transparency as possible.

For many, that tool was Draftback. But now that it no longer meets Google's extension requirements, we’ve compiled five alternatives for you to try.

Key Takeaways

  • Originality.ai: Best for reviewing writer edits during content creation while tracking AI usage.
  • Screencastify: Ideal for video tracking for those who prefer visual learning.
  • DocuViz: Great for tracking document changes quickly.
  • DocTrackr: A top choice for tracking revision amends from more than one author.
  • Revision History: A good option for tracking student edits to help make specific suggestions and feedback.

What Is Draftback?

But before we dive straight in, we need to quickly discuss what Draftback is, and why it has been such a popular extension for over 400,000 users.

Draftback is a Chrome extension designed to let users study revisions to a Google Doc in greater detail. Essentially, it allows users to rewatch changes to an article in a playback video, allowing users to confirm the authenticity of the piece.

This makes it an excellent tool for students and teachers, as well as content marketers and copywriters.

5 Alternatives to the Draftback Chrome Extension

Draftback will likely no longer be supported soon because it doesn't follow best practices for Chrome extensions (read more about Manifest V2 Chrome extensions that are retiring and their alternatives). So, we researched the five best Draftback alternatives for you to consider.

1. Originality.ai 

Link: Originality.ai Chrome Extension

Best for: Reviewing writer edits during content creation while tracking AI usage.

One excellent alternative to Draftback is the Originality.ai Chrome extension. Not only does it provide you with a detailed review of every amendment made within a Google Doc (just as Draftback does), but it also helps users detect potential uses of AI more accurately.

Once installed, you can conveniently access the extension at the top of any Google Doc you create, as pictured below:

Then, after writing or editing a document, you can review a report that displays a graph of the writing process as well as an AI detection score, as shown below: 

Additionally, you can catch a playback and Watch a Writer Write to see the entire writing process unfold. Optionally, you can speed up the playback to play at either 3x or 20x the speed.

Interested in learning more about AI detection? 

Check out our guide on AI detection accuracy, then review a meta-analysis of third-party AI detection studies, and get insight into false positives.

2. Screencastify 

Link: Screencastify Chrome Extension

Best for: Video tracking for those who prefer visual learning.

If you are in need of a tracking tool but prefer visual tracking options rather than text-based ones, Screencastify is another good option.

The tool allows you to record your screen quickly and easily, allowing you to review changes as they are made.

However, the tool doesn’t provide a transcript alongside your video, making it hard to quickly make amends or adjustments.

3. DocuViz

Link: DocuViz Chrome Extension

Best for: Tracking document changes quickly.

DocuViz is a tool that very closely mirrors Draftback in that it provides a history revision of any changes that are made. 

DocuViz also has a handy color-coding system to show who edited what, which is great for documents with more than one author.

However, similar to Draftback, it currently looks like the DocuViz Chrome Extension is outdated and according to Google’s best practises, it may soon no longer be available.

4. DocTrackr

Link: DocTrackr Chrome Extension

Best for: Tracking revision amends from more than one author.

DocTrackr is another solution to easily monitor any document changes. Much like DocuViz, DocTrackr allows you to not only track amends, but also identify where those amends came from.

The Chrome extension is free to download and conveniently integrates into Google Docs. 

However, unlike Originality.ai, the tool doesn’t specifically help with plagiarism or AI content detection; instead, it leaves that deduction process up to the user, which has been shown to be inconsistent at best.

5. Revision History

Link: Revision History Chrome Extension

Best for: Tracking student edits to help make specific suggestions and feedback.

Lastly, you could also try Revision History, a Chrome extension designed specifically to help teachers track their student's doc edits in greater detail.

It is promoted as a tool that can help users track students' revisions and ensure they aren’t simply copying from large language models (LLMs).

However, the tool lacks some of the in-depth AI-checking features that Originality.ai’s extension has.

Final Thoughts

Although Draftback may not be supported for much longer, as Google notes that it doesn't follow Chrome extension best practices, there are still plenty of viable options for time-tracking, following revisions, and checking for generative AI.

From our research, Originality.ai is the best Draftback alternative. It provides a playback and report showcasing writer revisions with excellent insights into any generative AI usage.

It’s a brilliant tool for marketing managers who need to check writer’s work and writers who want to show that they are writing the content they produce.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Draftback Chrome Extension most commonly used for?

Draftback is a Chrome extension that users can download to provide them with a playback feature within the version history of Google Docs. This allows users to study any changes that are made, more specifically, seeing every single change.

What is a good alternative to the Draftback Chrome Extension?

One of the best alternatives for Draftback is Originality.ai, which provides users with a similar tracking feature whilst also allowing users to detect AI-generated content more accurately.

Is the Originality.ai Chrome Extension expensive?

The Originality.ai Chrome Extension is completely free to use. Simply head to the Chrome store and press install.

Graeme Whiles

My name is Graeme, a passionate writer with a strong Content Marketing background. Over the last seven years, I have developed an extensive portfolio of SEO Content writing, helping various brands improve their organic traffic, customer experience, and, ultimately, profits!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to fill out the entire form?

No, that’s one of the benefits, only fill out the areas which you think will be relevant to the prompts you require.

Why is the English so poor for some prompts?

When making the tool we had to make each prompt as general as possible to be able to include every kind of input. Not to worry though ChatGPT is smart and will still understand the prompt.

In The Press

Originality.ai has been featured for its accurate ability to detect GPT-3, Chat GPT and GPT-4 generated content. See some of the coverage below…

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Featured by Leading Publications

Originality.ai did a fantastic job on all three prompts, precisely detecting them as AI-written. Additionally, after I checked with actual human-written textual content, it did determine it as 100% human-generated, which is important.

Vahan Petrosyan

searchenginejournal.com

I use this tool most frequently to check for AI content personally. My most frequent use-case is checking content submitted by freelance writers we work with for AI and plagiarism.

Tom Demers

searchengineland.com

After extensive research and testing, we determined Originality.ai to be the most accurate technology.

Rock Content Team

rockcontent.com

Jon Gillham, Founder of Originality.ai came up with a tool to detect whether the content is written by humans or AI tools. It’s built on such technology that can specifically detect content by ChatGPT-3 — by giving you a spam score of 0-100, with an accuracy of 94%.

Felix Rose-Collins

ranktracker.com

ChatGPT lacks empathy and originality. It’s also recognized as AI-generated content most of the time by plagiarism and AI detectors like Originality.ai

Ashley Stahl

forbes.com

Originality.ai Do give them a shot! 

Sri Krishna

venturebeat.com

For web publishers, Originality.ai will enable you to scan your content seamlessly, see who has checked it previously, and detect if an AI-powered tool was implored.

Industry Trends

analyticsinsight.net

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

How Can I Conduct a Plagiarism Check between Two Documents Online?

With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Text Compare Tool?

Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.

What Files Can You Inspect with This Text Compare Tool?

We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.

Will My Data Be Shared?

There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.

Software License Agreement

Copyright © 2023, Originality.ai

All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

  1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

  1. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Will My Data Be Shared?

This table below shows a heat map of features on other sites compared to ours as you can see we almost have greens across the board!

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