How to Spot AI Writing Tells (+ AI Words Blacklist for 2026)

Is your audience clocking your AI content? Learn the 17 most common AI writing tells from corporate buzzwords to predictable rhythms, and how to fix them.

In this fast-paced digital landsc… only joking.

Generative AI has helped marketing teams the world over save time and increase output. It sounds positive. It sounds ground-breaking. But are these AI tools everything they’ve cracked up to be? Or are they causing more headaches?

Most people, including your buyers, are beginning to spot AI tells. Vocabulary, rhythm, structure, syntax… Generative AI is formulaic. In 2026, your audience has developed a sixth sense for AI-generated fluff. If they spot it, they stop reading (yes, really). Here’s how to spot AI writing tells, what to look out for, and how to fix your copy. 

Key takeaways

• SEO penalties: Google’s 2026 Information Gain signals prioritise content that avoids predictable AI patterns and buzzword bingo.

• Predictable patterns: Recognisable AI usually lacks sentence length variety and relies on a specific blacklist of overused transition phrases.

• The competitive edge: Editing AI tells out of your copy and content increases traffic compared to raw AI output by injecting brand-specific nuance and proprietary data.

• Train your staff: It’s likely that the majority of your team use AI. Teach your workforce how to use generative AI well to protect your brand’s reputation and authority.

Can readers tell if my content or copy is AI?

Mostly, yes. There are bound to be exceptions. But today, the average B2B buyer is AI-literate. That’s because they use it themselves. They might not be able to explain why a paragraph feels off, but they recognise the lack of jaggedness in the writing. 

Human writing is messy; it has rhythm, personal anecdotes, and occasional contrarian views. Raw AI is statistically safe, which makes it feel… robotic. 

Why it’s important to humanise your AI content

Hospitality tech is currently obsessed with innovation. Yet, if you look at the LinkedIn feeds of most SaaS providers, everyone is saying the exact same thing in the exact same way. The key is differentiating your B2B copy.

I know. It feels like you can’t win. If you don’t use AI, you fall behind. If you use AI, you lose readers and authority. Why? Because people trust people more than they trust AI… even when people are fallible. 

There are actual stakes to using raw AI output:

1. The trust gap: Over half of your readers will check out the second they realize a bot wrote your blog. It feels lazy, and in a relationship-based industry like hospitality, lazy is a death sentence.

2. The SEO trap: Google’s latest Information Gain updates are looking for unique perspectives. If your article follows a predictable pattern, the algorithm treats it as digital noise.

3. The sameness problem: If you and your biggest competitor use the same prompts for a post on Contactless Check-in, your marketing and messaging is now near-identical. You’ve successfully erased your own competitive advantage.

AI writing tells in 2026 and what to do about them

How many of these AI tells did you know about? Got any others? Let me know in the comments.

Download the AI Writing Tells in 2026 Infographic (PDF) here.

1. The buzzword bingo (corporate fluff tell)

AI operates on probability. It is trained on the entire internet, including millions of mediocre corporate whitepapers and press releases from 2015. 

When asked to write B2B copy, it defaults to the average of those inputs: high-syllable, low-meaning jargon. AI thinks it sounds professional (bless it) but to a human prospect, it sounds like noise.

AI verb tells

• Delve

• Leverage

• Foster

• Ignite

• Empower

• Uncover

• Unleash

• Underscore

• Optimise

• Streamline

If you tell a CTO you’re going to ‘leverage a comprehensive ecosystem to foster innovation,’ they’ll stop reading. You haven't told them what you do; you've only told them you know how to use a thesaurus.

AI adjective tells

• Cutting-edge

• Seamless

• Robust

• Future-ready

• Multifaceted

• Pivotal

• Dynamic

In SaaS (and especially hospitality tech), ‘seamless’ is the single most diluted word in the dictionary. It is a placeholder for a missing feature description.

AI metaphorical tells

AI is obsessed with spatial metaphors. It loves ‘landscapes,’ ‘realms,’ ‘tapestries,’ and ‘navigating complex ecosystems.’ If your software is a ‘beacon in the evolving landscape of data,’ you’re confusing your audience.

The fix (the pub test)

Read the sentence aloud. Would you say it to a colleague over a beer?

• AI: ‘We empower users to optimize their workflows.’

• Human: ‘We help you work faster.’

As a (human) copywriter, I aggressively hunt these words and replace them with specifics. I don't ‘empower’, I ‘give you the tools.’ I don't ‘optimise’. I ‘cut your server costs by 30%.’

2. Predictable sentence structures (the rhythm tell)

Advanced detectors (and savvy readers) in 2026 look for low burstiness. This is the lack of variation in sentence length and structure. AI models are statistically incentivised to play it safe, resulting in a monotonous, hypnotic rhythm that kills engagement.

The balanced paragraph

AI produces paragraphs that look like perfect rectangles. Three sentences, all roughly 15–20 words long, with a standard Subject-Verb-Object structure. It lulls the brain into a skim mode where nothing sticks.

The ‘No X. No Y. Just Z.’ pattern

AI loves the Rule of Three for punchy headers (e.g., ‘No hardware. No fees. Just growth.’). While effective when used once, AI will use this structure in every single section of a landing page, making the copy feel robotic and templated.

Grammatical symmetry

Human speech is messy. We use fragments. We start sentences with ‘But’ or ‘And.’ AI writing is ‘sanitised’ and rarely takes grammatical risks.

The Fix

Intentionally break the rhythm.

The high-low technique: Follow a long, complex, explanatory sentence with a short, sharp punch. Like this.

Visual variety: I structure the copy to look different on the page using bullets, one-line paragraphs, and bolded fragments to force the reader's eye to keep moving.

3. Hedging and softening (the neutral tell)

LLMs are trained with Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) to be harmless, helpful and honest. This makes them allergic to taking bold, controversial or definitive stances. But these are the exact things required for B2B thought leadership.

The safety hedges

Phrases like ‘It is important to consider,’ ‘While it is true,’ ‘It could be argued that,’ or ‘Generally speaking’ are death knells for authority. They signal that the writer is afraid to be wrong.

Polite introductions

AI over-indexes on ‘aims to.’ For example: ‘This article aims to explore the transformative potential of…’ You’re not writing a university essay. ‘Aims to’ sounds unsure. Be confident that you’ve accomplished the task. 

The ‘both sides’ fallacy

If you ask AI for an opinion on a SaaS trend, it will give you the pros and cons of both sides to avoid bias. Real sales happen when you champion a specific point of view.

The fix: The first 10% deletion rule

Almost always, the real article starts in the second paragraph. I delete the AI's polite throat-clearing and start with the conflict.

AI: ‘In this article, we will discuss the importance of churn reduction.’

Human: 'If you don't fix your churn by Q3, your acquisition budget is at risk.'

4. Transition and opener clichés 

Transition and opener clichés are the red flags that trigger a reader’s mental AI alarm. If your blog post or cold email starts with these, your bounce rate will soar because the reader subconsciously tags the content as low value.

The global opener

'In today’s fast-paced digital world...' or 'In the ever-evolving landscape of [Industry]...' These are filler words that AI uses to buy time while it predicts the next token. They mean nothing.

The deep dive

AI is obsessed with ‘diving in.’ Unless you are literally selling pool equipment, avoid phrases like 'Let’s dive in.' It is the hallmark of a lazy prompt.

The standardised summary

'In conclusion,' 'At the end of the day,' 'Ultimately,' or 'In essence.' Humans usually end with a call to action or a final thought, not a summary of what they just said. These phrases, again, are a call back to university essays.

The hook transitions

Instead of standard connector words (Furthermore, Additionally), AI tends to use hook transitions like:

• ‘But here’s the kicker:’

• ‘That’s only half the story.’

• ‘Why does this matter?’

• ‘Real talk:’

• ‘Here’s the truth.’

The fix

Don't announce that you are changing the subject. Instead, use the logic of the previous sentence to launch the next one. A human transition links the ideas, not just the paragraphs.

Instead of: ‘Additionally, you should consider the cost.’ (Lazy/boring/AI)

Instead of: ‘But here's the kicker: the cost is high.’ (Cheesy/AI)

Do this: ‘The features are impressive. The price tag isn't.’ (Human/Direct)

Do this: ‘But that $10k server cost doesn't just disappear.’

5. High-frequency AI words (2026 blacklist)

Research shows that since the explosion of LLMs, the usage of certain obscure words has skyrocketed in business writing. These are the words that 2026 Google algorithms (and human editors) use to identify ‘automated junk.’

Words that were previously rare in B2B context are now everywhere.

• Tapestry (Unless you sell rugs, avoid this).

• Testament (‘A testament to our commitment’).

• Beacon (‘A beacon of hope’).

• Realm (‘In the realm of cybersecurity’).

• Symphony (‘A symphony of features’).

AI Word Blacklist 2026

Category	AI red flag words	Human alternatives
The intros	Delve, Dive into, In today's digital age, At its core, Imagine a world	Look at, Explore, Now, Basically, Suppose
The buzzwords	Leverage, Synergy, Paradigm shift, Robust, Scalable, Cutting-edge	Use, Working together, Big change, Strong, Reliable, New
The transitions	Furthermore, Moreover, Additionally, In conclusion, It is important to note	Also, Plus, Besides, To wrap up, Keep in mind
The high drama	Transformative, Revolutionary, Game-changer, Unleash, Unlock, Testament	Impactful, Major, Helpful, Start using, Access, Proof
The vague adjectives	Myriad, Plethora, Comprehensive, Pivotal, Unwavering, Multifaceted	Many, Lots of, Full, Key, Steady, Complex
The flowery metaphors	Tapestry, Landscape, Beacon, Journey, Roadmap, Symphony	Mix, Situation, Guide, Process, Plan, Blend

Why this hurts you

These words are 'hallucinations of sophistication.' They add a layer of purple prose that distances the reader from the product.

The fix: The kill list audit

Run every piece of content through a rigorous ‘kill list.’ If a word appears on the list, replace it with a concrete noun or an active verb. We don't weave a ‘tapestry of solutions’; we ‘integrate your tech stack.’

Train your staff to use generative AI properly

You might think your workforce doesn't use AI. You’d be wrong. 

In 2025, Gallup reported that 40% of U.S. employees use AI at least a few times a year in Q2. In Q3 that figure rose to 45%. Frequent use (a few times a week or more) grew from 19% to 23%, while daily use grew from 8% to 10%.

Yet, how many of these employees have been trained to use AI tools safely and effectively? According to McKinsey, 48% of U.S. employees would welcome formal generative AI training from their organisation.

In the UK, only 27% of employees say they’ve had AI education or training according to Consultancy.uk.

Untrained staff treat AI as a ‘Create’ button. Smart staff treat it as a ‘Draft’ button

• The SEO penalty: Google’s 2025/26 core updates are aggressively penalising thin, unedited AI content. If your marketing team is copy-pasting directly from ChatGPT, you are actively destroying your domain authority.

• The legal landmine: If an employee uses Midjourney to generate a blog image or ChatGPT to write code, you likely do not own the copyright to that work. You are building your brand on rented land.

Prompting is easy; editing is hard. Here’s what you need to do to ensure your team are using AI well:

• The red pen protocol: Train your team to assume every AI output is a lie until proven otherwise. Every stat must be source-checked. Every claim must be verified.

• The human sandwich workflow: Human strategy > AI draft > Human edit. If the Human isn't the first and last step, the process is broken. 

• Safe sandboxes: Give them enterprise-grade tools (with data privacy turned ON) so they don't have to sneak around using free, leaky versions.

The cost of ‘good enough’

The barrier to creating content has never been lower. And that’s a big problem. The internet is rapidly filling with beige, harmless, grammatically perfect noise.

You cannot prompt your way to a personality. Resonance requires risk. It requires the ability to break grammatical rules for effect, to take a stance that might alienate 10% of the market to make the other 90% fall in love, and to write with a rhythm that keeps a human brain engaged.

AI is an incredible research assistant and a terrible Creative Director.

If you’re ready to rescue your content from the flood of AI slop, I’d love to chat. Book an Introductory Content Audit with me.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the most common tells of AI-generated writing?

The most common signs of AI writing include a repetitive sentence structure, the overuse of transition words like 'furthermore' or 'moreover,' and a lack of specific, personal anecdotes.

AI also tends to use 'hallmark' vocabulary. This includes words like tapestry, delve, leverage, and testament which often signal a lack of human nuance.

2. How can I tell if an article was written by ChatGPT or an AI?

You can often spot ChatGPT-style writing by its overly polite, neutral tone and its tendency to follow a rigid 'Intro-Point-Point-Point-Conclusion' format.

Look for "fluff" sentences that sound professional but don't actually provide new information or data-backed insights.

3. Why do AI detectors flag my human-written content?

AI detectors look for 'perplexity' (complexity of text) and 'burstiness' (variation in sentence length).

If your writing style is very formal or uses predictable patterns, a detector might mistakenly flag it as AI.

To avoid this, try varying your sentence lengths and incorporating unique personal perspectives that a machine cannot replicate.

4. Can Google penalise my blog for using AI-generated content?

Google’s primary focus is on 'Helpful Content.' While Google does not strictly penalise AI content just for being AI, it does deprioritise content that lacks E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

If your AI-generated post is generic and offers no unique value, it is unlikely to rank well in Search or AI Overviews.

5. How do I make AI writing sound more human?

To humanize AI writing, you should:

• Remove AI words: Edit out overused buzzwords like unleash, transformative, and pivotal.

• Add human data: Include personal stories, specific case studies, and unique opinions.

• Vary the rhythm: Break up long, monotonous paragraphs with short, punchy sentences.

• Fact-check: Manually verify every statistic, as AI frequently hallucinates or invents facts.

6. Is it possible to bypass AI detection entirely?

While humaniser tools exist, the most effective way to bypass detection is through manual editing.

By injecting your own voice, correcting robotic phrasing, and ensuring the content provides high utility, you naturally create a 'low-probability' pattern that bypasses most AI detection algorithms.