You paste an AI draft into your doc…and it kind of gives you the ick. Too smooth. Too generic. And there’s a buzzword you hate.

You don’t have time to rewrite from scratch, but you also can’t hit send on something that sounds robotic or off-brand.

Good news: the fixes are simple.

I’ve been tracking what problems are consistently showing up in my AI text. I’ve also been training my model and redirecting the outputs. Most days I’m impressed with the drafts. But the copy always needs an edit, and sometimes, the bot slips up.

Maybe there’s a tense that’s a bit off. A list where “one of these things is not like the other”. And then there’s the overuse of the beloved em dash. Lately, I’ve been noticing buzzy language sneaking in. Phrases no one actually used before we all started drafting with AI.

“Trim the fluff.”
“Cut the noise.”
“Create clarity.”

Again, the ick. And a slew of new cliches to strike.

I’m calling it an “AI-Tell”, or a giveaway that copy is generated. That’s why I made an AI Tells Checklist. Not to catch bad writing, but to help you quickly spot where the tone in your AI text shifts from human to template, so that you can work with AI and still control the story.

The AI Tells Checklist™ by Eve Edit Co.

1. The “Too Smooth” Opener

Your draft walks backward into the idea. AI likes broad openers when it doesn’t know your real context.

Fix: Start where your reader actually is in their day. Be specific. Your intro (hook, lead, subject line, kicker) is the most important line.

2. The Over-Explainer

AI either explains too much or explains the obvious.

Fix: Ask, “Would my colleague already know this?” If yes, cut it. Know your audience’s starting point.

3. The Mismatched List Problem

Dog, cat, hamster, monkey?

Fix: But really, check that your AI lists match. Make bullets follow the same pattern and stick to active phrasing for matching tense in any sentence with a lot of commas.

4. The Copy That Echoes Your Ask

AI mirrors so that you know it understood the assignment… but sometimes that means it doesn’t complete the assignment.

Fix: Cut any lines that restate your AI prompt in your copy, and replace with direct value (context, stakes, next steps, or insight).

5. Buzzword Accumulation

These are dead giveaways.

Fix: Ban the ones your team avoids in real life. Ask, “Would I say this out loud?” And tell your bot what words are cancelled.

6. The Tone That Accidentally Scolds

No one wants to be told what they “should” or “need” to do.

Fix: Reframe advice and education into calm, helpful suggestions backed by personal experience.

7. The Suspiciously Neutral Middle

AI can say a lot without saying anything at all.

Fix: Add one line rooted in real stakes or real work to build an arc and hold attention. Say it, and show proof.

8. The Repetition Loop

AI repeats itself because it thinks repetition = helpfulness. But it makes copy feel padded or robotic.

Fix: Keep the strongest version where it belongs. Cut the duplicates.

9. The “Perfect Paragraph” Problem

AI paragraphs are symmetrical, evenly paced, and overly tidy.

Fix: Mix sentence lengths. Add line breaks. Create natural rhythm.

10. The Missing “Why It Matters”

AI isn’t great at adding the stakes or takeaways.

Fix: Add one line that answers “so what?”, “why now?” or gives a “so that you can…” tied to a real outcome.

Note: You can make these fixes yourself, but your bot can learn many of them. Tell it to remember your preferences and apply them next time.

Final Thought

Canada’s national broadcaster recently shared its newest guidelines for using AI. Its basic message is, artificial intelligence can speed up work, but it can’t tell the news.

The same rule is true anywhere clear communication matters. Use AI to brainstorm, research, and write fast captions a dozen different ways for different audiences and platforms. But don’t let your work, your business or your brand get muddied by bot speak.

I’ve created a more complete version of this checklist as a free resource. Download the full AI Tells Checklist™ here. The short guide breaks down 10 AI writing problems, and shares edits and prompts to fix them fast and keep your copy human-led.

This checklist is all about elevating clunky copy. For a look at substantive edits, involving ethics and errors, I wrote more about that here.