These Words Make It Obvious That Your Text Is AI-Generated

I. Introduction to AI-generated Text

You know how AI is getting super good at sounding like a real person nowadays? It can basically write like a human, which is pretty wild. But even though the robot writers are getting better, there are still some giveaways that their stuff is machine-made and not actually written by a person.

As someone who reads through a ton of articles for my job every week, I've gotten pretty good at spotting AI-generated writing. There are certain words and phrases the AI loves to use over and over that make it obvious the text wasn't created by an actual human being. We're going to go through some of the biggest offenders so you can learn to sniff them out too.

II. Purpose of the Article

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not here to totally trash on AI writing tools. They can definitely be super useful for things like getting ideas flowing. I use AI assistants like ChatGPT all the time to help me brainstorm and get started on stuff.

But you can't just be lazy and publish whatever the AI spits out without any human editing or tweaking. That's where things start sounding really robotic and unnatural. The point is to use AI in a smart way to make your writing better, not to just hit ctrl+c ctrl+v on some machine output.

We want to utilize AI to our advantage as writers, but not in a way that's obvious to the reader that it was written by an artificial intelligence. The goal is to have it sound natural and human-like after incorporating AI's suggestions and capabilities in a skilled way.

III. 12 Common AI-Generated Texts to Avoid

1. "Tapestry"/ “A tapestry of“

Ugh, AI loves jamming this fancy word into anything and everything. You'll see it use "tapestry" to describe any sort of complex situation or mix of things.

Example of AI Writing: "The company culture was a rich tapestry woven from diverse backgrounds and experiences."

Human-like language: Just say "diversity"/”diverse” - it gets the point across without sounding like a thesaurus vomited on the page: “The company had a really diverse culture with people from all different backgrounds.“

2. "Treasure Trove"

Whenever there's a bunch of something valuable mentioned, get ready for AI to break out this phrase. It thinks "treasure trove" sounds way more impressive than just saying "a lot"

Example of AI Writing: "The ancient ruins revealed a treasure trove of artifacts from the lost civilization."

Human-like language: "An abundance of"/ “a ton of” or "a wealth of" work much better: "They found a ton of artifacts left over from that ancient civilization in the ruins."

3. "Testament"

This word only really comes up when talking about legal/religious stuff in everyday life. But AI can't resist sprinkling it in to sound smarter.

Example of AI Writing: "His dedication to volunteering is a testament to his generous spirit."

Human-like language: You're probably better off with something simpler like "proof" or "evidence" or like: "His volunteering really shows how generous and giving he is."

4. "Peril"

AI adores the dramatic flair of this word whenever there's any danger involved. But it just sounds so overly formal and unnatural when used casually.

Example of AI Writing: "The explorers found themselves in grave peril as the cave ceiling began to collapse.”

Human-like language: Way easier to just say "danger" or "risk" and get the point across: “The explorers were in serious danger when the cave started caving in on them.”

5. "Landscape"

Specifically the phrase "digital landscape" is a huge giveaway that AI wrote something. It gets so overused to describe the online world/tech industry.

Example of AI Writing: "Companies must adapt to stay competitive in today's rapidly shifting digital landscape."

Human-like language: Just call it "the digital world", "the internet", "tech", etc. :"Companies have to keep up with how quickly the online world is changing these days."

6. "Delve"/ “Dive in“

AI can't just look into something - it's always gotta "delve" into it instead. That fancy word just screams "an AI wrote this!"

Example of AI Writing: "To fully grasp the concept, we must delve deeper into the underlying theories.""

Human-like language: "Explore", "dig into", "get into", "investigate" all convey the same thing naturally: "To really understand it, we need to look more closely at the theories behind it."

7. "Pertinent"

Why go out of the way to use this unnecessary 25-cent word for "relevant"? AI thinks it makes its writing sound smarter, but it just comes across as stiff.

Example of AI Writing: "Please provide all pertinent details about the incident in your report."

Human-like language: Seriously, just say "relevant" or "applicable" like a normal person: "Make sure to include all the relevant details about what happened in your report."

8. "Synergy"

This corporate buzzword just screams "I'm written by AI, not an actual human!". It's one of those vague, jargon-y words AI throws around to sound professional.

Example of AI Writing: "The synergistic effects of combining our marketing efforts will be extremely powerful."

Human-like language: "Collaboration", "cooperation", or "working together" are all better options: "If we collaborated more on marketing, it would have way more impact."

9. "Cognizant"

AI writers just love tossing out obscure, rarely-used words like this. Apparently "aware" or "conscious" are too simple and boring for robots.

Example of AI Writing: "Investors must remain cognizant of potential market fluctuations."

Human-like language: Why complicate it? Just say "aware" or "conscious" like the rest of us: "Investors need to stay aware of how the markets could change."

10. "Unleash"/ “Uncovered“/ ”Unlock”

AI loves overly dramatic phrasing like "unleash" when it could just use a simpler word.

Example of AI Writing: "By leveraging AI, companies can unleash unprecedented productivity and innovation."

Human-like language: "Using AI can boost productivity and innovation for companies." There's no need for the dramatic "unleash" phrasing.

11. "Navigating"

This is another AI favorite for describing dealing with or going through something, but it sounds overly formal in many casual contexts.

Example for AI writing: "Navigating the challenges of remote work requires careful planning and communication."

Human-like language: "Handling the challenges of remote work takes careful planning and communication." Simple verbs like "handle" sound more natural.

12. "Sentinel"

AI loves using fancy words like "sentinel" when talking about things that have nothing to do with guards or lookouts. It just comes across as the AI trying way too hard to sound smart.

Example of AI Writing: "Cybersecurity experts act as sentinels, safeguarding systems from malicious threats."

Human-like language: "Cybersecurity experts protect systems from malicious threats and cyberattacks." No need for the overly metaphorical "sentinel" phrasing.

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