How to Remove AI-Sounding Writing
AI writing has identifiable patterns: repetitive openings, formulaic contrasts, slogan overload, unearned profundity, uniform paragraph lengths. Here is how to find and remove them.
What AI writing sounds like
AI writing has identifiable patterns. They are not subtle once you know what to look for. The problem is that a 300-page manuscript contains thousands of paragraphs, and finding every instance by eye is impractical.
Here are the most common patterns that make writing sound AI-generated:
- Repetitive openings: Multiple paragraphs start with the same structure, like a gerund phrase or a prepositional phrase.
- Formulaic contrasts: Every paragraph sets up a contrast with however, but, or on the other hand.
- Slogan overload: Sentences that sound like marketing copy. Short, punchy, and empty.
- Unearned profundity: Sentences that try to sound deep but do not actually say anything.
- Uniform paragraph lengths: Every paragraph is the same length, creating a monotonous rhythm.
- Empty transitions: Sentences that signal a transition without actually transitioning.
- Forced triads: Everything comes in threes. Three adjectives, three examples, three clauses.
- Colon and list overuse: Every idea is introduced with a colon and followed by a list.
- Excessive fragments: Short sentences used for emphasis that end up creating a choppy rhythm.
How to find AI patterns in your manuscript
The manual approach is to read your manuscript with these patterns in mind. This works for short pieces but fails for book-length manuscripts. You will miss instances, especially in the middle chapters where attention fades.
A better approach is to use a Voice Pass tool that scans the manuscript for these patterns automatically. Each instance is flagged with the original text, the pattern it matches, and a proposed revision. You review each finding and decide whether to accept, reject, or hand-edit.
How to fix AI-sounding writing
Fixing AI patterns is not just about replacing words. It is about understanding why the pattern is a problem and what a better version sounds like.
Repetitive openings are fixed by varying how paragraphs start. Formulaic contrasts are fixed by removing unnecessary contrasts and keeping only the meaningful ones. Slogan overload is fixed by replacing punchy emptiness with specific substance. Uniform paragraphs are fixed by varying length deliberately.
The key is that fixes are proposed, not applied. You see the original, the revision, the reason, and the rule. You decide what changes. This keeps your voice in control while removing the patterns that make the writing sound artificial.
Preventing AI patterns in the first place
The best fix is prevention. If you include voice rules in every AI prompt, the model is less likely to produce these patterns. A global rule like no em dashes, no forced triads, and no empty motivational language, enforced in every prompt, prevents many patterns from appearing in the first place.
A text cleaner can remove patterns that slip through. For example, if your rule is no em dashes, the cleaner removes any em dashes that the model produces before displaying the text. This catches what the prompt did not prevent.