Given just how unguardrailed AI is today – and how easily accessible it is for students – teachers need deeper insight into students’ writing process. If a teacher doesn’t know how much work was a student’s own vs. how much was offloaded to AI, they can’t accurately assess where a student is on their learning journey.
That’s why we are excited to launch Byline by Revision History – a school-managed Chrome extension, deployed by schools, that sits alongside students’ Google Docs while they write.
For teachers – Byline enables deeper visibility into students’ writing process, AI use, web journey, and extension usage. No changes to teachers’ existing workflow (this is visible on the teacher side through the Revision History extension). Dashboards will offer another layer of insight, too.
For students – with teacher permission granted per assignment, Byline enables AI writing coaching that’s limited, grade-appropriate, and only unlocks every set number of typed words. Not a chatbot that does the work for them.
*Note: AI coaching can be turned off (browsing and extension logging would remain active).
See it in action (4 min):
→ See the full overview: here → Book 20 minutes for a live demo/exploration: here
Districts are actively piloting Byline – ready for full release before the ‘26-‘27 school-year.
More on our thinking below!
Over the past year, more than 250,000 teachers have used Revision History to stay informed about their students’ writing process and progress. What we kept hearing was this: teachers aren’t against AI, they’re against students offloading their critical thinking and creativity to AI.
We agree! But today, there is no reliable tool that lets students use AI responsibly and gives teachers full insight into how – and how much – students are leveraging AI. So banning AI has been the most logical option.
We think there’s a better way.
Byline by Revision History is a school-managed Chrome extension that gives students guardrailed AI writing support in Google Docs while providing teachers full visibility into how it’s being used through Revision History.
The AI feedback is not an open chatbot and is not always available. Every 50 typed words, students can unlock AI feedback in the form of ready-made, pedagogy-aligned prompts: does my writing flow? Am I staying focused? What else am I missing? We make sure the feedback it returns doesn’t do the work for the student, asks questions, and encourages a growth mindset.
And for teachers who simply want more visibility into students’ writing process, AI Coaching mode can always be turned off on a given assignment.
Byline will be ready ahead of the ‘26-‘27 school-year and is a separate product with per-student pricing. Please reach out for more information. We’d love your thoughts and feedback!
Thank you for all you do!
– Buzz & Revision History team