I Cracked the Code: How to Spot AI Writing in 30 Seconds or Less
AI doesn't just write. It leaves fingerprints all over the page.
I spent weeks analyzing output from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Llama, Perplexity, and DeepSeek. What I found after filtering the data was fascinating - 100 specific words and phrases that consistently appear when AI does the writing.
These aren't random quirks. They're systematic patterns that repeat across different models, topics, and formats. They expose what even fancy AI detection tools miss half the time.
Why You Should Care
AI content is absolutely everywhere now, and nobody's labeling it.
If you're running a marketing team, writing for publication, handling SEO, or publishing content on your site, you need to spot machine-written text. It's the difference between real, authentic stuff and mass-manufactured garbage.
Those AI detector tools? They crack under pressure. But the words themselves? They tell the whole story.
Seven Categories That Scream "Robot Writer"
I grilled each major AI system with way too many content generation requests, each designed to uncover a different type of suspicious language. All the answers fell into these telltale categories:
- Overused AI Vocabulary
- Statistically Overrepresented Words
- Formal-Sounding Phrases and Adverbs
- AI-Favored Transitions
- Hedging Terms
- Buzzword Overload
- Boilerplate Clichés
For each category, I pulled the top terms to create a master list of AI linguistic fingerprints.
Top 100 Words That Give AI Away
Click any category to see a list of AI tell words. Click any word or phrase to see why it signals AI-written content.
AI Tell Words
Click any word/phrase above to see why it's a common signal of AI-generated content.
Let's look at each category and why these words pop up so much.
1. Overused AI Vocabulary
These are the comfort-zone words for AI. They show up way more than in human writing on identical topics.
Typical offenders: "optimize", "empower", "comprehensive", "streamline", "maximize".
Why? AI loves sounding helpful and thorough, and these words hit that sweet spot every time.
2. Statistically Overrepresented Words
No matter what you ask about, these words appear across AI content at abnormal rates.
Typical offenders: "significant", "key", "robust", "extensive", "insights".
Why? They're safe, abstract, and make the AI sound smart without saying anything specific.
3. Formal-Sounding Phrases and Adverbs
AI often echoes that pretentious guy at a party who's trying too hard to sound educated.
Typical offenders: "notably", "in essence", "consequently", "remarkably", "undeniably".
Why? When AI isn't sure how to sound human, it defaults to writing like a textbook.
4. AI's Favorite Transition Words
You know the pattern: intro, body, conclusion, wrap-up. Predictable? Yup. Easy to spot? You bet.
Typical offenders: "moreover", "furthermore", "in contrast", "additionally", "therefore".
Why? These transitions keep AI writing organized but make it read like a high-school essay.
5. Hedging Terms
When AI doesn't want to commit to facts, it hedges like crazy.
Typical offenders: "potentially", "likely", "could", "might", "arguably".
Why? It's risk-averse writing. AI avoids definitive claims, creating an insipid style that humans rarely use naturally.
6. Buzzword Overload
AI piles jargon high, especially in business, tech, and marketing content.
Typical offenders: "scalable", "innovative", "disruption", "ecosystem", "cutting-edge".
Why? These words are baked into its training data and rankle with that sanitized corporate speak nobody actually uses in real life.
7. Boilerplate Clichés
Some phrases feel familiar cause you've seen them a thousand times. And AI simply loves recycling those tired expressions!
Typical offenders: "in today's fast-paced world", "at the end of the day", "it goes without saying", "ever-evolving landscape", "the power of [X]".
Why? AI mimics what it's been fed - and clichés are everywhere in its training data.
Dr. Philip Seargeant, an expert in sociolinguistics at The Open University, labeled his students' AI-powered work as "Perfect, but in a very bland and uninteresting way."
How to Write Like a Human (For Real)
If you want your writing to stand apart from AI, do the opposite:
AI writes for everyone, but I write for someone. And so should you.
Last Thought: Language Is Your Signature
The way we use words reflects who we are, what we believe, and our unique context. AI has no voice; it just borrows from the collective. That makes it detectable.
Next time you're reading or writing something, look closer. The words themselves will whisper who's really behind the keyboard.
Spot AI Writing in seconds using my free tool:
📎 Paste your text in the window below.
⚙️ Click “Scan for AI Signals” to check the text against the top AI tell words.
🎯 See the percentage of words that raise red flags.
📥 Download your AI signals content report.