The Asterisk in the Turnitin AI Report

In Turnitin's AI writing report you'll sometimes see an asterisk (*) next to a metric or a percentage — and the interface doesn't exactly shout what it means. Here's the short version and why it matters when you read your report.

What the asterisk means

An asterisk marks a value Turnitin considers below its detection threshold — statistically, the signal is too weak for the tool to treat it as a reliable indicator (for example, an AI-writing metric too small to distinguish from noise). In everyday terms: flagged with an asterisk = "we computed something, but we don't consider it a confident finding." It's the report's own honesty label.

Turnitin updates its report layout; if your report's wording differs, the underlying idea is the same — symbols like * mark low-confidence values. When the stakes are high, ask your instructor which version your institution uses and check Turnitin's own documentation for it.

Why this matters for you

• Reading your report: a small AI percentage carrying an asterisk is a weaker signal than the same number without one. Don't panic over threshold-flagged values.
• Defending yourself: if you're facing questions, the asterisk is part of your argument — the tool itself said the signal was below confidence.
• Calibrating edits: if you're pre-checking with an independent explainable detector, compare like with like — our flagged-lines list is the "what to fix" layer that threshold symbols only gesture at.

Related report questions

The AI report is separate from the similarity report (colors explained here); citations and quotes can also drive flags (why citations get flagged); and if a flag turns into an accusation, start with the false-accusation playbook.