Make the robot sound human

It’s not exactly a secret to say that Ai writing is everywhere. According to The Economist, LLMs have tripled the number of new e-books published on Amazon every month and draft more than a third of new websites. There's no data on Linkedin posts, but (call me a cynic) I refuse to believe everyone is writing them from scratch.

Tips on how to spot Ai writing have been springing up like mushrooms ever since em dash gate, in Reddit threads and big media outlets alike. If you'd prefer to outsource that particular task to an Ai detector programme, of course you can.

It’s one thing knowing the tell-tale signs, but can you effectively edit them out? How do you stop your writing from sounding like an Ai?

Here’s a list I’ve put together, which works for now...until they update the programmes.

How to edit Ai writing:

Look for empty phrases —> These are often broad generalisations. Make them specific. You can spot them by trying to unpick a phrase by asking “what does that really mean?” The typical "It's not X, it's Y" usually falls into this category.

Delete redundant sentences —> If a sentence says the same thing as the last one, delete it.

Cull bullet point lists —> These can be an effective way to highlight and breakdown certain pieces of information. However the effect wears off when the page is mostly made up of bullet points.

Shorten paragraphs —> Dave Trott is the master of this, and reading his articles is like breathing. Cut down to two or three sentences per paragraph.

Ditch the clichés —> Take a leaf out of George Orwell’s book and avoid what he calls "worn-out" metaphors. Get specific. Try to say it differently. Or don’t use a metaphor at all. 

Check groups of three —> You don’t have to remove these entirely - it’s a useful literary and ancient rhetorical device that makes the content more memorable and rhythmic. But use it sparingly and when it matters. Maximum one per paragraph, if you want a rule. 

Em dash —> As of July 2026 not a reliable tell-tale any more, so you don’t necessarily have to remove them. But keep an eye out for any punctuation that is overly used and replace it with something else: parentheses, commas, full stops.

Cut down long sentences —> Shorter sentences are easier to read, but mixing up sentence length makes your writing more compelling. Ai tends to waffle.

Watch out for fancy words —> You might think these sound clever, but it will probably just make your writing harder for others to understand. Short Anglo-Saxon words are best. Unless you're writing a particularly technical or scientific piece meant for an audience who are familiar with those kinds of words.

Consider your audience —> Make sure the piece is written with your audience in mind. The Ai is writing for you, from a jumbled data set comprised of lots of writing meant for an unidentifiable mass of people.