Choose the right operation
Lossless scanning and AI rewriting solve different problems.
If the problem is a literal invisible character, rewriting the entire passage is unnecessary. Inspect the evidence first, remove only supported artifacts, and preserve the readable message.
| Question | Lossless scanner | Generative rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| Primary action | Reports and removes supported literal artifacts | Generates different wording |
| Readable wording | Preserved | May change |
| Evidence | Exact code point, count, and location | Usually transformation output |
| Reproducibility | Deterministic for the same input | Can vary by model and settings |
| Statistical watermark guarantee | No | No universal guarantee |
| Best fit | Copy hygiene, Unicode inspection, audit trails | Intentional editing and style changes |
Use lossless scanning when
- You need exact character-level evidence
- The readable words should remain unchanged
- You need a repeatable audit result
- You are checking copied text for formatting artifacts
Use rewriting when
- You intentionally want different wording
- You can review every semantic change
- Style editing is the actual goal
- Exact textual preservation is not required
Important limitation
Neither hidden-character cleaning nor generic rewriting proves that a provider-level statistical watermark was detected or removed. That requires a supported provider-specific verifier and an honest inconclusive state when verification is unavailable.
Experimental
Inspect a proxy-scored rewrite without risking the original
The research lab creates up to three local variants, checks numbers and URLs, and shows every result. Its score is not provider verification or proof of authorship.
Open the research lab