1. Generic, Buzzword-Filled Language

AI tends to overuse certain “safe” adjectives and businessy terms. Words like “essential,” “vital,” “boost,” “drive,” “ensure” and other stock phrases often appear repeatedly in AI text. Human authors usually use a more varied or domain-specific vocabulary. By contrast, AI text often feels generic or clichéd.

2. Repetitive Phrasing and Structure

AI models often repeat sentence patterns or connectors. For example, a paragraph might string together clauses like “By doing X, you can achieve Y, and also Z” multiple times. AI writing sometimes uses the same transition words or phrases in back-to-back sentences (“By focusing on…, By integrating…, By leveraging…”). Humans naturally vary sentence openings and phrasing more.

3. Overly Formal or Monotone Tone

AI prose is typically very polished and impersonal. It often maintains a neutral, evenly formal tone throughout, with little slang, humor or personal voice. Emotional cues, anecdotes or first-person perspective (“I” or “we” reflecting personal experience) are usually missing. As one analysis notes, AI writing “may lack emotion or personality, resulting in a robotic or flat tone”. If the text sounds unusually detached or diplomatic, suspect AI origin.

4. Flawless Grammar and Uniform Style

AI rarely makes simple typos or obvious errors. A piece of writing that has zero spelling/grammar mistakes – especially on a long or technical topic – can actually be a red flag. Human writers inevitably have quirks or occasional slips (for example, a typo or unusual phrasing). If the writing is mechanically perfect in every sentence (all syntax correct, all punctuation uniform), it might be auto-generated.

5. Low Variation (Predictability) – Perplexity and Burstiness

In human writing, sentence lengths and word choices vary a lot; in AI text they tend to be more uniform. AI systems aim for the most probable next word, so their output often has low perplexity (very predictable phrasing) and low burstiness (sentences all similar lengths).

Visual representation of perplexity and burstiness differences between AI and human writing

In contrast, humans often mix short, punchy sentences with longer, complex ones. For example, a human writer might compose a poetic, high-perplexity line like “Every second on the clock erupted into a cascade of paradoxical moments…”, whereas an AI might produce a straightforward line like “The clock ticked steadily, marking the seconds.” Uniform, “boring” sentence structure (all medium-length, similarly constructed sentences) suggests AI.

6. Vague Generalizations, Lack of Deep Insight

AI text often stays at a surface level. It tends to make broad statements without specific examples or original analysis. For instance, an AI might say “lifelong learning is important because it opens new opportunities” in very general terms, whereas a human writer might use a concrete metaphor or story. If the writing uses lots of disclaimers and clichés (for example “Studies show… Experts agree…”) but gives no detailed data or personal perspective, it may be AI-generated.

7. Awkward or Unusual Language

Look for odd word choices or phrasing that a human probably wouldn’t use. AI sometimes spits out stilted or over-formal language (“in order to”, “moreover”, “furthermore”) in places where a person would use a simpler word or break a sentence differently. It may repeat similar sounding words too closely or misuse idioms. In general, a bit of “unusual language” – too-literary phrases or slightly off grammar – can paradoxically signal AI, since it’s trying too hard to sound polished.

8. Excess of Structure or Formatting

Some AI generators favor lists and bullet points to organize information. An unusually structured document (lots of bullet lists or numbered steps with no narrative text) might be a clue. Likewise, overly organized paragraphs with very obvious topic sentences might hint at algorithmic generation.

AI Detection Software (with Caution)

A number of online tools claim to flag AI-written text. These tools analyze statistical patterns like perplexity and burstiness. For example, GPTZero explicitly checks sentence diversity and word unpredictability. These can be a useful first pass, but don’t rely on them alone.

Comparison of popular AI detection tools and their accuracy rates

Studies show detection tools are only ~80% accurate and often yield false positives on unusual but human text. Indeed, well-edited AI content or cleverly paraphrased text can fool many detectors. Use any “AI score” as just one data point, not definitive proof.

Compare to Known Writing

If possible, see if the suspicious text matches writing samples by the purported author. Educators should compare a student’s submission to that student’s previous essays or notes. Look for big deviations in vocabulary, style, or error patterns. If a normally casual writer suddenly produces extremely formal prose, that’s suspicious.

Fact-Check Content

Manually verify any facts, statistics or quotations. AI models can invent data, dates or studies that sound plausible. If a text cites a study or figure, search for it. False specifics (“According to a 2024 study by the Institute of Y”) can betray AI generation. Also, put suspicious sentences into Google or academic databases: if you find no matching source, it was likely made up.

Ask Questions or Seek Revision Histories

In a scholastic or workplace setting, quiz the author about their content or request drafts. If a student can’t explain their own paper’s key points, it may indicate they didn’t write it. In collaborative docs (like Google Docs), review the version history. AI-generated text is often pasted in all at once, whereas genuine writing evolves over time.

Use Plagiarism and Reverse-Search Tools

Sometimes AI text is copied from common sources or from previous AI outputs. Run the suspicious text through plagiarism checkers. If the text—or significant parts of it—appear elsewhere on the web (in books, papers, or known AI datasets), that’s a clue.

The ChatGPT Self-Identification Trick

One clever technique shared by educators: copy the suspicious text and ask ChatGPT directly “Did you write this?” Surprisingly, the AI often honestly admits when text was generated by itself or similar models. While this won’t work forever as models evolve, it’s currently an effective method for quick verification.

Comparison of detection approaches between different AI detection tools