An unedited AI draft leans on a set of patterns most readers can't name but do feel. Knowing the patterns is an editing skill: the value of a human in the loop is catching what a reader would flag as machine-written.
Part I: Words and phrases that give it away
No-fly list
"The real X"
Tap to flipDresses up an ordinary noun as if it needed rescuing from a fake one. Say the noun.
"It's not X, it's Y"
Tap to flipA two-step negate-then-correct move. Fold the point into one sentence instead.
"Own" as filler
Tap to flip"Their own content" says nothing "their content" doesn't already say.
"Honest," "real" as qualifiers
Tap to flip"An honest audit," "a real example," adding nothing to a claim already sourced.
"Exactly" as oversell
Tap to flipAn intensifier doing the work a specific number or detail should do.
Beat, play, move as step-nouns
Tap to flip"In one move," "the next play." A step is a step.
"Leverage a performance lever"
Tap to flipCorporate double jargon, banned twice over.
"[Noun phrase], [tag]" captions
Tap to flip"The team, working late." Give the sentence a real verb.
Give-away words
One widely cited analysis of millions of paper abstracts found "delves" appearing roughly 25 times more often after ChatGPT's release. These are the words carrying that same signal into everyday marketing copy. Click a word for the human swap.
Throat-clearers, hedges and closers
Whole sentences that could be deleted with nothing lost.
The sentence around it contributes nothing.
The same tic dressed differently.
A hedge with no claim attached to it.
An attempt to cover every possible reader instead of writing to one.
A formal contrast construction a real person rarely reaches for out loud.
A filler transition standing in for an actual conclusion.
Assistant-voice residue. Nobody writing to a real reader talks like this.
Narrating the document instead of making the point.
Part II: Logic and jargon that give it away
Circular logic and empty claims
Sentences that sound finished without ever landing anywhere.
"Leverage," "harness," "transform," used in a sentence that could use a plain verb instead.
"Fast, flexible and future-ready," three adjectives that could apply to almost anything.
"On one hand... on the other hand," presented even when one side is obviously stronger.
"It's important to note that," padding that adds no claim.
A final paragraph that restates everything already said, instead of ending on the actual point.
Every sentence roughly the same length and shape, none of the rhythm a real person writes with.
"It's not just coffee, it's a ritual," reached for as an easy contrast instead of an earned one.
"Moreover," "furthermore," "additionally," stacked at the start of consecutive paragraphs instead of the argument itself doing the connecting.
"Can potentially help," "may possibly improve," hedging past the point of saying anything.
"When it comes to building a strong content strategy, it's important to consider..." repeats the prompt back before adding anything.
Spot the slop: same idea, two drafts
Business jargon and hyphenated compliments
Filler that survived from corporate decks straight into AI drafts.
Part III: Training your AI with context
Icks that lose a real reader
Put this in a brand charter
Use this as a starting point for your style guide. Choose the rules that fit your brand, add examples of what you prefer and give AI the current guide alongside your voice charter. Review each draft against both.
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