Two ways to use AI in ZenGrader
Both live inside ZenGrader, next to the rubric panel:
| Button | Scope | What happens |
|---|
| Auto-Grade with AI |
Single submission |
Reads the current student's submission against the attached rubric and fills in a proposed point level per criterion, which you then review, adjust, and save. |
| AI Grade All |
Whole class, one question |
Runs the same rubric-based proposal for every enrolled student on the currently open question, as a background job you can monitor (and stop) from the toolbar. |
How it works
- Attach a rubric to the question first (see Rubrics), the AI grades against your criteria and point levels, not a generic scale.
- Set the STRICTNESS slider (Lenient / Moderate / Strict) to match how generously you want partial credit awarded. It's remembered per course/question in your browser.
- Run Auto-Grade (single) or AI Grade All (bulk). For bulk, a progress indicator tracks the job; you can stop it early if needed.
- Review every proposed score. Nothing is finalized automatically, the AI's picks populate the rubric panel exactly like manual clicks would, so you can accept, override, or re-grade any criterion before saving.
- Save and, when ready, release grades the same way as manual grading.
AI is assistive, not authoritative. Every AI-proposed score sits in the same editable rubric panel you'd use manually, it is never published or synced to a student's record until you review and save it. You retain full academic responsibility for every grade, exactly as our
Terms of Service describe.
Free vs Pro AI quota
| Plan | AI credits (Auto-Grade, rubric generation, CLO assist, matching) | Bulk AI grading |
|---|
| Free | 20 credits / month | Included, draws from your monthly AI credits |
| ProfDesk Pro | Generous fair-use allowance (500 credits / month) | Included, draws from your monthly AI credits |
1 AI credit is approximately 1 paper graded*
* Actual usage of credits will depend on the complexity of the grading/AI work calculated by ProfDesk.
AI credits are shared across grading and every other ProfDesk AI feature. This same calculation applies to grading, rubric generation, matching, quizzes, study tools and similarity checks.
The sample/demo course draws from its own small, separate lifetime AI trial instead of your real monthly quota, so exploring AI features there never eats into your Free-plan allowance. See Plans & Billing for full plan details, and Terms of Service § 5 for the fair-use policy.
One AI feature has a second limit on top of credits.
AI Student Matching also draws on a monthly paper allowance on Free
(10 scanned papers a month; unlimited on Pro). The AI portion still draws from the same shared monthly credit balance.
Reaching it never blocks you from adding work:
Submit on Behalf has no monthly limit on any plan.
Once your monthly credits are used up, AI buttons disable with a tooltip explaining why (quota reached, or "you've used all your sample AI credits" on the demo course) rather than failing silently, you can keep grading manually the whole time.
