Don't Outsource the Wrong Thing

This is how I can see AI in your work

When I opened my inbox this morning, I deleted five emails after reading the first paragraph because they were clearly AI-generated. And while I’m a fan of outsourcing many tasks to AI, I cannot support “writing” major components of your story through Chat, Claude, or Gemini. As a reader, I deserve more, and as a writer, I don’t want to see you forfeit the tone and voice that is uniquely you.

8 Signs You’ve Outsourced Some (or All) of Your Writing to AI

1. Repeated sentence structures and familiar transitions.

2. Language that summarizes what someone might say but doesn’t say anything you’d actually say.

3. Over-structured delivery. Lists, tidy frameworks, and those neat sets of three that show up a little too often. (Gag me with a spoon.)

4. No real examples, no concrete details, or texture that feel like a human experience. You could swap in a different topic, and the paragraph would still work.

5. Flat voice. No variation in tone, no sense of the person behind the words. Everything feels smoothed out and slightly overhandled.

6. Repetitive rhetorical patterns, especially contrast statements and reframes.

7. Clichés that feel familiar because you’ve seen them everywhere else and cannot unsee them.

8. Writing that could belong to anyone and therefore doesn’t feel like it belongs to anyone. Especially not you.

Words and phrases that often appear in AI-generated work (along with the aforementioned patterns)

The four biggest offenders in bold.

quietly
gently
dramatically
not this but that
whether you’re… or…
have you ever wondered
if you’re anything like me
unpack
it’s important to note
it’s worth mentioning
what this means is
the truth is
in today’s fast-paced world
now more than ever
at its core
in many ways
game-changer
powerful
seamless
unlock
elevate
transform
you’re not alone
I see you
it goes without saying

The trick isn’t banning these words from your vernacular. It’s noticing these patterns. If you read something and feel like you’ve heard it before… you probably have.

P.S Here’s an article I wrote for Science of People with 40 Jargon Words to eliminate.