If your writing sounds like everyone else's AI, it's usually because you're using the same words everyone else is. This isn't about banning words forever — it's about spotting the phrases that have quietly become obvious AI tells.
Use AI as an extension of yourself, not a replacement for your voice. Here's the running list I check my own drafts against — the instant giveaways, the buzzwords to go easy on, and what to reach for instead.
The second one of these shows up, a reader's "an AI wrote this" alarm goes off. Cut them.
Not banned — just overused. One is fine. Three in a paragraph and you sound like a slide deck.
Boring? A little. Clear, human, and trusted? Very. This is what real people say.
Words are the symptom. These are the actual habits that keep your writing sounding like a person.
If you wouldn't naturally say it out loud in conversation, question whether it belongs in your writing.
Read every AI draft out loud. If it sounds like LinkedIn bingo, rewrite it.
Delete filler before you add more words. Tightening beats padding every time.
Add your own stories, opinions, and experiences — those are impossible for AI to invent authentically. They're your unfair advantage.
Never publish the first draft AI hands you. Ever.
AI should make your voice stronger — not replace it. The best content still sounds like a real person with real experiences and real opinions.
Keep the ideas. Ghost the clichés.
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