How to Spot AI Writing: 5 Telltale Signs to Look For

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, AI-generated content is becoming increasingly common across the web. Whether you’re reading news articles, blog posts, or even product reviews, it can sometimes be challenging to distinguish between human-written and AI-generated text. Understanding the key indicators of AI writing is essential—not only for content creators and editors but also for readers who want to assess the credibility and authenticity of what they’re consuming.

Why Does It Matter to Identify AI Writing?

AI writing tools have revolutionized content creation by making it faster and more accessible. However, these tools can also produce text that lacks genuine insight, subtlety, or human nuance. For educators, marketers, and readers alike, spotting AI-generated content helps maintain quality, avoid misinformation, and ensure originality.

In this post, we’ll explore five telltale signs that can help you identify AI writing with confidence.

1. Repetitive Phrasing and Overuse of Certain Words

One common trait of many AI-generated texts is the tendency to repeat certain phrases or words unnaturally. While human writers often vary their language to keep readers engaged, AI models sometimes rely on repetitive structures or keywords to maintain coherence. For example, you might notice the same sentence patterns or synonymous phrases appearing multiple times in a short span.

Tip: If you find yourself rereading similar sentences or spotting repetitive vocabulary, it could be a sign the content was generated by AI.

2. Lack of Deep Insight or Originality

AI writing tools are excellent at summarizing information and producing fact-based content, but they usually lack the depth and originality that come from human experience. If an article feels generic, surface-level, or misses nuanced perspectives, it might have been created by AI.

For example, AI-generated content may provide definitions or explain concepts clearly but fail to include personal anecdotes, unique opinions, or creative storytelling elements.

3. Unnatural or Awkward Phrasing

Despite advances in natural language processing, AI output can still produce sentences that sound slightly off or awkward. This could be unusual word choices, strange sentence constructions, or a lack of typical conversational flow. These oddities often occur because AI models predict the next word based on patterns rather than true understanding.

Example: Sentences that seem grammatically correct but feel “robotic” or overly formal can be a clue.

4. Overly Perfect Grammar and Punctuation

Human writers frequently make minor errors, typos, or stylistic inconsistencies—even in professional writing. AI-generated content, on the other hand, tends to have flawless grammar and punctuation throughout the text. While this might sound like a good thing, a lack of any human-like error can be suspicious.

Keep in mind: Overly polished content that reads like it was edited by a meticulous proofreader, but lacks personality, could be AI-produced.

5. Information That’s Too General or Vague

AI models generate content based on patterns in data they were trained on, which can lead to generalizations or vague statements rather than concrete facts or detailed analysis. If an article avoids specifics, lacks examples, or makes broad claims without evidence, it might be an AI-generated piece.

Pro tip: Cross-check information with trusted sources. If the content can’t back up its claims, approach it with caution.

Extra Tip: Use Tools to Detect AI Writing

There are several online tools designed to help identify AI-generated text. These tools analyze writing style, word patterns, and other linguistic features to estimate the likelihood that a piece was written by AI. Some popular options include OpenAI’s AI Text Classifier and Writer’s AI Content Detector.

Why AI Writing Detection Is Becoming More Important

As AI writing tools become more sophisticated, distinguishing AI-generated content from human writing will grow more challenging—but also more critical. For educators, it helps uphold academic integrity. For businesses, it ensures marketing and communication remain authentic. For readers, it protects against misinformation.

Staying aware of these five signs and using the right tools can help you navigate the evolving digital content landscape with confidence.

Bonus: How to Use ChatGPT for Reverse Image Search

While we’re on the topic of AI, did you know you can leverage ChatGPT to perform reverse image searches? This technique involves describing the image content in detail to ChatGPT and asking it to help identify the image source or similar images online. It’s a handy trick when you don’t have access to traditional reverse image search tools.

For more in-depth guides and tech tips, check out Tom’s Guide, a trusted resource for technology news and how-tos.

Final Thoughts

AI writing is here to stay, and it offers incredible benefits for content creation. However, knowing how to spot AI-generated text is essential for maintaining quality and trustworthiness in the digital world. Watch for repetitive phrasing, lack of originality, awkward sentences, overly perfect grammar, and vague content as key indicators.

By combining careful reading with AI detection tools, you can become a savvy consumer and creator of online content.

Stay curious, stay informed, and happy reading!