5 Telltale Signs AI Wrote Your Content (and How to Un-AI It)

So you have decided to start using AI to write your blog posts and social media captions. Smart move my friend! AI can really help you streamline those time consuming tasks so it’s easier for you to show up more consistently, if… 

And this is a BIG IF!

You put the "you" back into your written content. While AI is great at helping us organize our thoughts and create a flow of content that makes sense, it can't replace our voice in our marketing. 

AI is helpful, but it has some very clear tells that your readers are probably seeing. And if they don't see them right off, they still know that something just feels off when reading your words. If you aren't careful you will start losing your voice entirely. 

This actually started to happen to me. I was an early adopter of AI and like a lot of people I began using it to help me write my content. At first it was fabulous. I was producing new content faster than ever. It seemed so easy to do my social media, blogging and even write new courses for Solo Grind Central. I felt like a rock star. 

And then I started noticing how things felt "off" in my AI produced content...

I started noticing when I was reading the emails to my subscribers out loud. Back then I was sending an audio option along with my emails each week, and I started noticing how they just didn't sound like me. The words did not roll off my tongue so easily and I found it take three times longer to record these than it used to. 

I was having to rewrite these emails so much, and when I turned to AI to help me, things just got uglier. 

I also started to realize that my open rates on these emails was dropping fast. I was losing subscribers, and what was even worse I felt like I was losing my connection to my audience. 

I don't want this to happen to you, so today I thought I would share five telltale signs AI wrote your blog or caption, and how to fix it before you hit publish.

You just can’t copy-paste and hit publish, and move on with your day. 

I actually have stopped letting AI write my initial drafts, but I also love to write, and I know not everyone does. So if you are using AI to write the initial draft of your content, that's okay. Just don't copy, paste and publish it! (I know I just said that, but it is worth repeating!)

Read through what AI has written from top to bottom, and I recommend reading it out loud, and as you do imagine you are having this conversation with a trust friend who knows you. That is one of the quickest ways to pick up on any area that just doesn't sound like you. 

Another reason to read it carefully... is to make sure any parts of the conversation you had with your AI tool aren't copied over, like the helpful prompt at the end of your conversation that starts off with, "If you’d like, next we can..."  

I have seen emails, proposals and even contracts come to me with the AI conversation included and let me just say, that had me questioning their abilities, and rethinking my decision to move forward. 

Now let's look at a few more ways AI is showing up in your content. 

Here are 5 Telltale Signs AI Wrote Your Content

1. Your content sounds like a motivational speaker and a corporate memo had a baby

You know exactly what I’m talking about. All of those long run-on sentences and vague advice that really say nothing at all. 

AI tools have a tendency to be really wordy, and incredibly redundant. I cannot tell you how many times I have pulled a blog post draft out of AI only to have the last three paragraphs invite the reader to book a discovery call. You don’t want to sound that needy. Trust me! 

There are also some REALLY common phrases AI loves to use, especially in the beginning. These include

• In today’s world… 
• Let’s be honest… 
• Don’t get me wrong…
• It's not that... It's just this... 
• Let's unpack this... 

These phrases don't necessarily sound bad, but they also probably don’t sound like you. And YOU is who your audience is looking for. 

Do you want to hear something funny? Even AI knows its content is stale, stuffy and not very genuine. ChatGPT actually gave me this list of overused disingenuous phrases… 

2. There’s a mysterious space at the beginning of every paragraph

AI does some weird formatting things, like adding an extra space at the beginning of each new line of text. That extra space doesn’t have a purpose. There is no need to indent paragraphs today and even if there was, you wouldn’t use the space bar to do it. (Really please stop using the space bar!)

This extra space it’s an AI quirk, not a style choice, so take it out. Better yet, tell your AI to do it for you. Just make sure it listens! 

3. AI loves the em dash — 

I admit before AI I was an em dash kind of girl, and they do actually have a purpose in writing. A good em dash has the ability to bring emphasis to a point that is really important and that you want to stand out. It helps ensure the reader pauses to let a thought sink in, and can make reading a bit more interesting. 

But AI tries to add them in every — other — sentence! 

This has become one of the most recognizable signs you’re using AI. Even when you aren’t and you just love them like I do, it looks like you copied and pasted straight from AI. 

Now when our readers see the em dash rather than leaning in closer to our words, their thoughts drift to, "I wonder if they used AI to write this?"

They are no longer paying attention to us and the message we have to share, and that is a problem. You want to keep your readers engaged, and am em dash is like an detour sign disconnecting them from you. 

4. The long line separator 

AI loves to add the long line separating sections of your post. Something that looks like this… 

______________________________________________________________________________

Do you know any one who actually uses these in blog posts and social media captions? I don't. This line isn't natural, it isn't something that can just easily be added and it is isn't natural. It also just isn't necessary.

I know sometimes we are just looking for a way to break up text and make things looks more visually interesting, but this isn't the way. 

So do yourself a favor, and take out the long lines. 

5. The titles are oddly formal with a colon separator

This might be the most recognizable sign you are using AI to write your blog posts. The super long blog post title with a colon separator. Something like this… Your Marketing Strategy: How to Make Your Business Thrive In Today's Competitive World

This feels a lot more like a term paper than a conversation. If your blog is more formal and informational, kind of like a research paper, then this might work for you. But if you are using your blogs to help your audience get to know you better, you definitely want to change the title to something a lot less boring and much more eye-catching. 

Ready to Squeeze the “AI Look” out of your content?
Here’s how to fix it (without starting from scratch)

Step 1. Edit for tone, not just grammar

Scan the content for any phrases that just don’t sound like you. These could be the more formal phrases, the rough attempts to be casual or the extra wordy content that just goes on and on and on. My suggestion is to read it out loud. Your ears will pick up on things your brain thinks is fine. 

Swap out that content with words you’d actually say. Read it out loud again, and ask yourself, “Does this sound like me?”  If not, tweak it again and again if necessary until it feels genuine and authentic to you. 

And yes, this may feel a little time consuming at first, but the more you do it the faster you get. 

Step 2. Cut the fluff and keep the gems

As I said above, AI can get W-O-R-D-Y! Even if you are a talker and a sometimes rambler like me, this extra content waters down what you are trying to say and hides your message. Don’t be afraid to cut out anything that adds little value and just sounds like filler. 

And this seems like a good time to share that there is no magic number of words you need to have in a blog post. Sure blog posts of 1,500 words or more tend to perform better, but word count is never more important than the value of your content. Strive for clarity first. 

Step 3. Add your own stories or examples

One of the best ways to share the real you is to share real stories that relate to what you are sharing. 

• Tell us how you learned a valuable lesson you now share with your clients. 
• Or how you solved a challenge that was surprising and unexpected. 
• If you’ve helped a client solve the same problem you’re writing about, tell that story. Just be sure to get permission to share or share anonymously. 
• Talk about a lesson you learned the hard way and frame it as encouragement.
• Share those little relatable moments that capture the real you 

DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE use the "stories" that AI writes for you to be relatable if they are fiction. I have had this happen a lot, AI making up a story about a client that never happened. This is the fast track to losing your authentic voice and trust when the truth comes out. 

Step 4. Simplify your title

This one is simple… Go for a title that’s clear, to the point, and sounds like you.

5. Check the spacing and formatting

Scan the content for any weird spacing and formatting issues. Clean up weird indents or spacing issues, and get rid of those silly em dashes! It’s a small fix that makes a big difference in readability.

If you really want to focus on the formatting and not get sucked into the content, scan from the bottom up. This will help you disconnect from the message so you are more likely to catch any weird formatting AI created for you. 

Your “Un-AI Your Content” Checklist… 

You can always come back to this blog post to get the checklist, but I know you won’t. So drag this to your desktop or save it to your phone for quick easy reference. 

Final thought… Using AI doesn’t mean giving up your voice. 

When you use AI well with clarity, focus and strategy in mind, it can really help you streamline your marketing. 

So use it. Just make sure you put the “you” into what you are sharing. Because that’s who your audience showed up for.