Almost every UK university now publishes guidance on generative AI, and most students reading it are left with one question: am I allowed to use AI at all? The short answer is that most policies do not ban AI outright. They draw a line between using AI to help you learn and using AI to produce work you then submit as your own.
What UK university policies usually say
Policies differ in detail, but they tend to share three ideas. First, assessed work must be your own, so submitting AI-generated or AI-rewritten text as yours is normally treated as academic misconduct. Second, some uses are often permitted — brainstorming, checking understanding, or getting feedback on a draft — unless a module says otherwise. Third, you may be asked to declare any AI use, and individual modules can set stricter rules than the university-wide policy.
Feedback versus ghostwriting
A useful test: who wrote the words? If a tool writes, rewrites or paraphrases your text, the words are no longer yours. If a tool reads your draft and tells you where the argument is thin or a reference is inconsistent, and you then make the changes, the words remain yours. That second kind of help is the same thing tutors, study-skills teams and peer reviewers have always offered.
Why this matters if you are worried about false accusations
Many students are anxious about being wrongly accused of using AI. Keeping your drafts, notes and version history is the best protection you have: it shows how your work developed over time. A feedback tool that never edits your text supports that record rather than muddying it.
A quick checklist before you use any AI tool
1. Read your university's AI guidance and your module handbook. 2. Check whether your assessment has its own AI rules. 3. Avoid any tool that writes, rewrites or paraphrases your work. 4. Keep your drafts and note what help you used. 5. Declare AI use if your university asks you to. 6. If you are unsure, ask your module leader before you submit.
Where Tiger's Eye fits
Tiger's Eye is built around this line. It only critiques: it reads your draft against your brief, level of study and referencing style, and tells you what to look at. It never writes, rewrites or generates text for you, so your words — and your grade — stay yours. Always check your own university's policy first; rules vary.