Stop Using These Phrases to Avoid Sounding Like AI

People are using AI to write their content, and it’s painfully obvious. Some phrases scream AI, and I don’t know whether people just don’t care or don’t realize that they sound like a robot.

And no, I’m not talking about the em dash. Don’t even get me started about how AI stole that from writers, UGH.

Readers are using eyes like a hawk to spot AI, and writers are faced with the challenge of how to avoid sounding like AI. 

And honestly, it is getting a little trickier. AI is constantly learning from us, which means it’s getting better at sounding like you, especially when you teach it your voice.

But I still catch phrases in people’s writing that confirm they at least copied that sentence from AI. I’m not going to get into the ethics of that in this blog, but I want to share some AI phrases that you can rewrite to not sound like AI.

1. “In today’s fast-paced world…”

AI loves this phrase because it’s an easy way to introduce a topic by establishing that something is changing. It sounds polished but doesn’t actually say much.

And that’s very common with AI. It keeps things broad and generic to avoid taking a stance on something. That’s your job. 

AI keeps things high-level, giving you room to get more specific and add your opinions and stories to the copy.

Instead of this phrase, start with the specific problem, behavior, or observation you’re actually discussing. Give the reader a reason to care immediately instead of delaying the point. We aren’t trying to increase word count here like we were in college.

Example:

• AI: “In today’s fast-paced world, businesses need to find new ways to connect with their audiences.”
• Rewrite: “Your audience doesn’t need more content. They need content that answers the questions they’re already asking.”

2. “The good news?”

AI uses this soooo often; it’s crazy. It’s an easy way to transition from a problem to a solution and build a little suspense before revealing the positive takeaway. It makes even a fairly ordinary statement sound more conversational, but it’s become a very recognizable AI writing pattern.

I have nothing against rhetorical questions, but this one specifically has got to go.

Just give the reader the good news. There’s no need to build up to it. If there’s a meaningful shift from problem to solution, make that transition specific.

Example:

• AI: “The good news? You don’t need to completely overhaul your content strategy to see results.”
• Rewrite: “You don’t necessarily need a complete content overhaul. Start by identifying what’s already working and build from there.”

3. “It’s not just about X. It’s about Y.”

We all know the “it’s not about, it is about” phrase is AI. And I know it’s really easy to use in your own writing, which is why AI has started using it so often. 

It’s an easy way to create a contrast and sounds punchy. An ordinary statement becomes a takeaway, which can benefit the reader, but when you use it repeatedly, it starts sounding like a LinkedIn post written by a robot. 

Sometimes X and Y aren’t even meaningfully different. More AI fluff.

Just say the actual point. If there is a meaningful distinction, make the distinction more specific.

Example:

• AI: “SEO isn’t just about ranking higher. It’s about connecting with the right audience.”
• Rewrite: “A high ranking doesn’t mean much if the person clicking your result isn’t a potential customer.”

4. “There’s no denying that…”

This is an easy way to emphasize that something is important or obvious. You might think you’re sharing an opinion, but it’s a generic intro to almost any topic.

If there’s truly no denying something, why waste words telling the reader that? It usually comes before a statement that’s already strong enough on its own.

This is another example of AI adding polish instead of substance.

Instead, remove the phrase and see if the sentence still works. If the actual argument or observation still makes sense, there’s your answer.

Example:

• AI: “There’s no denying that SEO is an important part of a successful marketing strategy.”
• Rewrite: “SEO can help your website reach people who are already searching for what you offer.”

5. “Not only X, but also Y.”

Again, another formula for showing that something has multiple benefits. AI can easily plug almost any two benefits into the formula, giving you more generic fluff.

The two benefits are often better expressed as separate, more specific ideas. If one benefit is more important, lead with it rather than giving both equal weight.

Example:

• AI: “Blogging not only improves your website’s visibility, but also helps establish your brand as an authority.”
• Rewrite: “A consistent blog can help more people find your website while giving potential customers a reason to trust your expertise.”

6. Using Colons in Sentences

This one is always a red flag for me because it’s such an easy thing to rewrite or restructure, but AI uses this formatting all the time. A period, comma, or more natural sentence would work better in almost every scenario.

Colons create a clean setup-and-payoff structure. They’re an easy way to introduce a list, explanation, or punchy statement, but when every other sentence has a colon, the writing starts to feel formulaic. 

Only use a colon when it genuinely improves the sentence, not as a substitute for a stronger idea. And try to mix up your sentence structures so every paragraph doesn’t follow the same rhythm. Overuse of any sentence structure is noticeable and distracting.

Example:

• AI: “There’s one thing every blog needs: consistency.”
• Rewrite: “Every blog needs consistency. You don’t have to publish every day, but you do need to give your audience and search engines something to work with regularly.”

7. “By X, Y, and Z, you can…”

AI always puts ideas in threes. Have you noticed that? The list of three makes the advice sound comprehensive and creates a neat setup for the promised result.

The problem is that the three items are often broad, predictable, forced, or loosely related. It can make advice sound more strategic than it actually is.

I’m not saying you should never put ideas in threes, but sometimes it does make sense to break it up into smaller or bigger ideas. Can you condense your ideas into two, or build upon it for 4+? Be specific about how an action leads to the result you’re promising.

Example:

• AI: “By creating valuable content, optimizing your website, and building backlinks, you can improve your SEO.”
• Rewrite: “Start by making sure your content actually answers the searcher’s question. Once you’ve got useful content worth ranking, you can focus on technical optimization and earning relevant backlinks.”

8. “The key is to…”

I do use this phrase… but so does AI. It’s an easy transition into advice. It works for pretty much any topic, but the advice that follows needs to be specific, and that’s usually where AI falls short. If something really is the key takeaway, the writing should be strong enough to say it directly.

I’m working on removing this from my vocabulary by stating the recommendation directly and explaining why it matters.

Example:

• AI: “The key is to create content that resonates with your target audience.”
• Rewrite: “Before you write another blog post, figure out what your audience is actually trying to solve. Your content will be more useful when it starts with their problem instead of your keyword.”

Why These Phrases Aren’t Automatically “Bad”

Hear me when I say this right now: If you naturally use these phrases in your writing, or see them out in the wild, it doesn’t automatically mean AI wrote them or that you should judge them that way.

Humans use these phrases too, which is why AI uses them. AI is the copycat, not us (well, not all of us). Seeing one phrase doesn’t prove AI wrote something.

AI uses familiar and repetitive constructions because they’re statistically common and broadly applicable. Our job is to recognize when the writing sounds generic instead of intentional.

Instead of asking “Does this sound like AI?”, ask, “Would I actually say this?”

How to Rewrite AI-Generated Copy

Or… how to improve your writing to NOT sound like AI. Because it sucks to be accused of writing with AI when you actually wrote something. 

The problem is when we aren’t specific enough to sound any different than the generic copy AI writes.

So here are a few ways to strengthen your copy:

• Remove introductory sentences that don’t add information and get to the point faster.
• Replace vague language with specifics.
• Add your own POV.
• Read it out loud and think about if it sounds like something you’d actually say.
• Add personality and your brand voice.

You Still Need to Edit Anything and Everything From AI

AI is great for brainstorming and outlining, but it’s not great at giving you a valuable piece of content you can just copy and paste onto your website. 

Your expertise, perspective, examples, and editing are what turn generic AI copy into content worth reading.

If your blog sounds like it could have been written for literally any business, that’s a bigger problem than whether AI wrote it. Your content should sound like your business, answer the questions your audience actually has, and support what you’re trying to accomplish through SEO. 

That’s the kind of strategy and writing I help businesses build. Explore my blog writing services and let’s write some valuable content for your audience.