How to Make Sure Your Writing Doesn’t Sound Like AI
15 red flags that give away AI writing and how to fix them so your content sounds human, alive, and uniquely yours.
AI is everywhere. You can’t scroll through Twitter/X or Substack without someone telling you it’s going to replace writers, designers, marketers … hell, maybe even your grandma’s book club.
And while it’s useful in a lot of ways, most AI-generated writing? It fucking screams AI.
It’s flat. Generic. Clean but lifeless.
Here’s the truth: your voice is your competitive edge. It’s the only thing that can’t be replicated. People don’t follow you for perfect sentences. They follow you for perspective, humor, insight, storytelling, the way you make them feel. They follow you for … you.
That’s why I don’t believe in outsourcing your writing to AI. If you do, you’re giving up the one thing that makes your work worth reading in the first place.
What I do believe in is using AI as part of your process. Not the driver’s seat. The passenger seat. It can brainstorm, suggest, polish, and check your work. But the soul of the writing? That has to come from you.
And I know because I’ve been recognized for strong human writing since I was a kid.
Why You Should Listen to Me
When I was 12 years old in the 1990s, I entered an essay contest through the Kiwanis Club at Beaver Creek School in Rimrock, Arizona. It was called the Citizenship Award and it recognizes students for contributions made to their communities. I was up against 6th, 7th, and 8th graders … and I won.
The prize? A brand-new bike. For a 12-year-old, this was a huge fucking deal. My best friend Markus cried when I won and he didn’t and I still feel bad about that (sorry, Markus). In elementary school terms, it was basically the Pulitzer.
And for context: this was the 1990s. No AI. No Grammarly. I didn’t even have Microsoft Word. I wrote that essay in WordPerfect on my mom’s Macintosh Quadra, which at the time was considered state-of-the-art, even if it looked like a beige box that could double as a microwave.
Was it high art? Probably not. But it connected. It made the judges hand me a bike.
That contest taught me something early: good writing has a pulse. It makes people feel something. It doesn’t sound robotic, it doesn’t over-explain the obvious, and it sure as hell doesn’t read like AI filler.
That lesson stuck. In 2013, I earned a Master’s Degree in Technical Writing from Northern Arizona University (Go, Lumberjacks!) long before AI was part of the conversation. Technical writing drilled clarity, concision, and precision into me. Later, I wrote for OUT magazine and The Advocate, where authentic storytelling wasn’t optional, it was the whole job. Side note, I earned an MBA from USC in 2022, so now I’m also a Trojan. Fight on!
So when I say I can spot AI writing a mile away, believe me: I’ve been honing that skill since the day I pedaled home on a Kiwanis bike, powered not by AI but by words typed out on a Macintosh Quadra.
The Writing Process (And Where AI Fits In)
The writing process hasn’t changed just because AI showed up. It’s the same one I studied, practiced, and taught myself a decade ago.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Prewriting / Brainstorming
This is the messy idea phase (brain dumps, half-baked outlines, rabbit-hole research).
✅ Where AI helps: idea lists, keyword pulls, outlines, summarizing research.💡 My Tip: Keep a running “idea dump” note on your phone. Jot down overheard conversations, random shower thoughts, or things that piss you off. AI can’t replicate the spark of lived experience.
Drafting
Getting words on the damn page. Ugly first drafts, zero polish.
✅ Where AI helps: expanding bullets into rough text, rearranging structure, killing blank-page paralysis.💡 My Tip: Don’t overthink your first draft. Write like you talk. Swear if that’s natural. Add sarcasm or asides. A “bad” draft with personality is 100x better than a polished bot draft with none.
Revising
Making it sharper: cutting fluff, moving chunks around, tightening the argument.
✅ Where AI helps: offering alt phrasings, suggesting different sentence structures, spotting weak transitions.💡 My Tip: Read it out loud. If you trip over a sentence, cut or rework it. Your ear will catch what AI can’t the awkward rhythm, fake tone, or filler.
Editing
Grammar, flow, readability. The stuff readers actually notice when it’s wrong.
✅ Where AI helps: proofreading, catching repeat words, flagging long sentences.💡 My Tip: Leave in a little imperfection. A single quirk, a slang word, or even a small typo now and then reminds people you’re human. Don’t sanitize your voice.
Publishing
Formatting, SEO, and figuring out how to squeeze more juice out of what you already wrote.
✅ Where AI helps: alt text, summaries, social snippets and SEO optimizations.💡 My Tip: Before you hit publish, ask yourself: Does this sound like me? If a stranger read it without your name, would they know it’s yours? That’s the only test that matters.
Notice something? AI supports every step, but it doesn’t own any of them.
The heart (the ideas, the perspective, the stories, the voice) that’s you. That’s non-negotiable.
But the truth is too many people let AI creep in and flatten their voice without even realizing it. The result? Writing that’s technically fine but feels dead on arrival. Readers might not know why it feels off but they’ll stop reading.
So let’s get into it: Here are 15 dead giveaways your writing sounds like AI and exactly how to fix them so your work sounds human, alive, and unmistakably yours.
15 Signs Your Writing Sounds Like AI (And How to Fix It)
1. Generic, Boring Intros
AI almost always opens with something soulless: “In today’s fast-paced digital world…” or “Content is more important than ever.” It’s like the equivalent of walking on stage and mumbling “so… yeah.”
👉 Fix it: Humans start with specifics. Tell a story. Drop a weird stat. Say something bold. “The average American checks email 15 times a day and that’s why newsletters print money.” That feels human.
2. Adverb Overload
AI loves stacking weak adverbs like “really,” “very,” and “extremely.” Example: “It’s really very important to stay consistent when writing newsletters.” Yeah, no shit.
👉 Fix it: Use precise language. “Really important” → “crucial.” “Extremely big” → “enormous.” Humans cut to the chase; AI pads the word count.
3. Robotic Transitions
AI tries to glue paragraphs together with stiff words like “Furthermore,” “Moreover,” or “In summary.” It reads like a 6th grader desperately trying to hit 500 words. Cue the “In conclusion…” filler.
👉 Fix it: Talk like an actual person, not a robot with a word-of-the-day calendar. Say shit like “Here’s the catch…” or “Let’s be real…” or “This is where people fuck up.” That’s how humans write. It’s messy, direct and to the point.
4. Highly Structured and Repetitive Phrasing
AI spits out stock phrases over and over: “It’s important to note…” “Dive into the complexities…” “Delving into the intricacies…” You can almost hear the algorithm ticking off boxes.
👉 Fix it: Switch it up. Use different rhythms and words. Instead of “It’s important to remember consistency matters,” say “Miss a week? Readers notice.” That’s human.
5. Perfect Sentences That Say Nothing
AI paragraphs are clean but empty. They have perfect grammar and no energy. Example: “Consistency is one of the most helpful habits a writer can develop. It ensures that your readers stay engaged and informed.” Snooze. Boring. STFU.
👉 Fix it: Add insight. Add “so what.” Instead: “Consistency is boring advice … until you miss two weeks and half your readers unsubscribe.” Humans bring consequences, nuance, and a little bite.
6. No Personality, No Pulse
AI can’t do you. It can’t tell a story about writing an essay on a Macintosh Quadra and winning a Kiwanis bike. It can’t be sarcastic or drop a perfectly placed “fuck.”
👉 Fix it: Add your quirks. Your opinions. Your humor. Your vulgar language. Humans are messy and that’s what makes writing worth reading.
7. Over-Explaining Obvious Shit
AI spells out the obvious like it’s breaking news: “Water is important because it helps people stay hydrated.” “Social media is used by billions of people worldwide.” Gee, thanks.
👉 Fix it: Cut filler. Respect your reader’s intelligence. If the line doesn’t add new value, delete it. Humans assume other humans know basic shit.
8. Same Voice the Whole Way Through
AI often sticks to one voice the whole way through. It’s all 2nd person (“you should…”) or all 3rd person (“people often…”). Humans naturally bounce between voices. “You won’t believe what happened. I was in line at Starbucks and…”
👉 Fix it: Switch it up when it makes sense. Add dialogue. Use “I” sometimes. Humans shift voice mid-story because that’s how we actually talk.
9. Cookie-Cutter Conclusions
AI endings are the literary equivalent of a limp dick: “In conclusion, it’s important to stay consistent.” No energy. No punch. Nothing to work with.
👉 Fix it: Humans end with a bang. A CTA. A bold opinion. “Miss deadlines and you’ll lose trust. It’s that simple. Don’t fuck it up.”
10. Constant Parallelism
AI leans hard on the same formula: “It’s not about X, it’s about Y.” Example: “Success isn’t just about hard work. It’s about perseverance.” Then again. And again.
👉 Fix it: Use it once, then break the pattern. Humans surprise readers. “It’s not just about writing daily. It’s about showing up hungover, uninspired, or tired, and doing it anyway.”
11. Too Clean, No Typos, No Quirks
AI writing is too polished. Humans screw up. We miss a comma, fat-finger a word, or drop in slang that doesn’t quite fit. And you know what? That’s fine. It feels alive.
👉 Fix it: Don’t try to be flawless. A little imperfection can actually prove there’s a person behind the words.
12. Long, Repetitive Sentences
AI defaults to long-ass, same-length sentences. Humans mix it up. We write short. Then long. Then we stop. Rhythm. That’s what keeps the brain engaged.
👉 Fix it: Edit for variety. Cut some sentences down to fragments. Stretch others out. Keep the reader guessing.
13. Afraid to Take a Stand
AI is scared of being wrong, so it hides behind “might,” “typically,” “don’t always,” “more often than not.” Example: “Writers might benefit from publishing consistently, as readers don’t always respond well to inconsistency.”
👉 Fix it: Take a stand. Humans respect bold opinions. “If you ghost your readers, they’ll leave. Period.”
14. Blogging Clichés Everywhere
AI is trained on oceans of generic blog content, so it vomits clichés:
“It goes without saying…”
“Without further ado…”
“Have you ever wondered why…?”
“The landscape of [topic] is constantly evolving.”
👉 Fix it: Kill the clichés. Rewrite them fresh. Or call them out and make fun of them. That’s human.
15. No Consistent Voice Across Posts
AI doesn’t have a “voice.” One article sounds formal, the next weirdly casual, the next like it swallowed a corporate HR manual. Humans have quirks. We have habits. Readers can spot our style instantly.
👉 Fix it: Develop your voice. Let your quirks show. When someone can read a line and know it’s you without seeing your name? That’s the goal.
Bonus: Stop Using AI Giveaways (Like Em Dashes)
Here’s a dead giveaway I see all the time: AI loves em dashes. It sprinkles them everywhere like confetti. Suddenly, people who never once used an em dash in their life are cranking them out in every other sentence.
Look … if you didn’t know what an em dash was before ChatGPT, don’t use them now. It’s like suddenly showing up to work in a monocle. Everyone knows you’re faking it.
👉 Fix it: Stick to the punctuation and style you naturally used before AI showed up. Don’t let the machine rewrite your voice. If em dashes, colons, or parallel phrasing weren’t your thing, don’t jam them in because the bot does. Readers can smell that shit.
The bigger point: don’t chase “AI polish.” Readers don’t want algorithmic polish. They want your voice even if it’s a little messy.
Don’t Let AI Erase You
AI isn’t evil. It’s just a tool. But if you let it take over, your writing will sound like every other bland, cookie-cutter post out there.
Use AI to brainstorm, to get unstuck, to polish. But don’t give it your voice. Don’t let it sand down the edges that make you you.
Because here’s the truth: what makes readers subscribe, share, and pay isn’t generic “content.” It’s your perspective. Your story. Your voice.
And I’ve known that since I was 12 years old, sitting at a Macintosh Quadra in the 1990s, banging out an essay in WordPerfect that beat out kids older than me and won me a brand-new bike. That wasn’t luck. That was writing with a pulse. AI might crank out paragraphs but it’ll never win you a bike.
AI can assist your process. But your voice? That’s the product.