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