Telltale signs of AI writing
Last week, I was on a fascinating Procopywriters course on AI by Tim Tucker, where we shared our top tips on spotting AI-generated writing.
Copywriters have an instinctive ‘all AI or no AI’ attitude to AI writing generators like ChatGPT and Gemini. However, it’s essential to recognise AI writing in copy to benefit our clients.
Clients and their customers are increasingly skilled at spotting mechanical-sounding text or content that’s in an inappropriate tone. It’s our duty to make the content fit a client’s tone of voice, rewrite it to make sure it stands out, fact-check for hallucination (made-up stuff), potential plagiarism and defamation, and make it sound human and relatable.
If you’re wondering whether something is AI-written, here are some of the giveaways (and, to clarify, following Tim’s guidance, I used generative AI as a tool to enhance rather than replace my expertise):
Forced and weird language
I asked Perplexity AI to write a LinkedIn post explaining how to detect AI writing. I told it to be professional but humorous. Here’s what it came up with:
‘Ah, the million-dollar question! You want to know how to sniff out the digital fingerprints of our silicon-based brethren in the copywriting world, and you’d like me to channel my inner wordsmith to pen a LinkedIn piece on this, all while keeping it light and reassuring for my fellow human scribblers.’
Silicon-based brethren? Human scribblers? Please!
Punctuation oddities
Copywriters use en dashes with a gap on either side – like this – between words. AI writing often uses em—dashes—like—this, with no spaces. It can also be inconsistent, using curly quotes (“”) and straight quotes (“”) in the same article.
White ticks in green boxes
We were all quick to spot this one. If you use AI to format a list in a LinkedIn post, change these (✅) to a different icon. Don’t overdo the emojis – another AI writing giveaway, especially at the end of every bullet point.
Use of stock phrases
Copywriters recognise excellence, so they will replace AI’s overused phrases and clichés, like ‘In today’s fast-paced world’, ‘in our ever-evolving landscape’, ‘staying ahead of the curve’ and ‘that being said’. You devalue your brand if you keep using stock phrases.
No new, genuine or authentic quotes
This is where you come into your own! AI will scrape the internet for personal anecdotes, which often sound generic and impersonal. An interview provides fresh and genuine quotes that give the interviewee soul.
Lack of originality
AI models regurgitate the same old knowledge without offering fresh insight, and sometimes, they can be misleading. Coin unusual phrases, grab readers’ attention with statements that add something, write an original pun, pose an uncommon question, or ask a loaded one. Use your talents to craft words that make people feel.
Remember to use your EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) to make your words resonate with audiences and check and rewrite any AI-generated text your client supplies.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that copywriters know what good looks like. Use their magic to ensure your content isn’t soulless and show your customers you care enough to write for them professionally.
Meanwhile, I’d love to know if you’ve spotted any other giveaways.
