How to Check If Something Was Written by AI

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Date: January 28, 2025

No doubt AI is one of the greatest evolutions of this century. It has almost captured every field and made the work easier and hassle-free. AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity have automated the writing process even in writing. 

But there is a problem: although AI writes perfectly, its content doesn’t have any value. It guesses the response based on your interaction and the needed information. 

Hence, in reality, AI can’t understand your queries. Consequently, AI generates generic and predictable information. Which is surely not appreciated by both search engines and the audience. Therefore, it’s essential to detect and avoid AI phrases and content from our content to add value to the writing and improve its SEO ranking. 

So, here are 10 common ways to detect whether the content is AI-generated or human-written

10 Ways To Check AI Written Content

You may think these points are common and that humans can also make these mistakes. However, when you analyze the content closely, you will notice clear differences between AI-generated and human-generated content.

Repetitive Writing

The best way to detect AI writing is to check for repetitive phrases and information in the content. AI writers repeat the same story over and over; unlike humans, they cannot recognize and avoid redundancy in the content. Therefore, it usually takes a main phrase and circulates the content around it. Whereas, human writers try to introduce new ideas and try to cover each idea concisely. 

Formulaic Sentence Structures

Do you know that although AI-generated sentences are grammatically perfect, they are kind of stiff and rigid? AI relies on formulaic sentence structures and the use of common phrases and idioms. Sometimes, these phrases are so frequently used that they seem excessive and inadequate. Therefore, a good way to check for AI-generated content is to check its structure. Ask yourself, is it just an example of a perfect sentence with zero value? Or does it look too formal and monotonous? If yes, then it’s AI. 

Excessive Use of AI-Typical Words

The AI highly depends on its training data, information, and writing styles. Therefore, whenever you want to check for AI content, look for certain words, such as One of the surest signs of AI writing is the frequent use of certain words.

• Crucial
• Delve
• Dive
• Tapestry 
• Furthermore
• Consequently
• In today’s adjective world of 
• Not only but

These words don’t need to be always used by AI, but if they occur generically in any content, then the content is AI-written. For instance, AI always gives its closing remarks by starting the sentence using “by.”. Just think of it yourself; will you casually start your sentence with by? 

Inaccurate Facts And Claims

If you have ever used AI to write academic work, then you must have noticed that AI usually presents information such as facts and states without mentioning any clear source. This sometimes results in misleading content and inaccurate information. Moreover, AI can sometimes confuse the names of products with their descriptions and attributes. Therefore, if you want to detect AI-generated content, then cross-check its stated facts to verify them. 

Unmet search intent

AI provides generic answers for every query; it can’t understand the user search intent. Therefore, if you think a piece of content doesn’t match its search intent, then there is a high possibility that it is AI-generated. For instance, if a user searches for “best waterproof earbuds in 2024,” it’s obvious that they searched for a list of the best waterproof earbuds. They want you to compare the models and help them select the best one for their needs. 

However, the AI sometimes provides only a single product review or recommendation, which surely does not align with the search intent. Therefore, if you want to detect AI-written content, ask yourself: does it answer the question correctly, and does it cover the common and obvious pain points? If your answer is no, then it’s AI-written content. 

Monotonous Tone of Voice

No matter how hard the developer tries, AI writers lack a personalized tone. They can’t use informal language or colloquialisms. Slang or own their own unique tone of voice. As you notice, decent human-written content will never sound dull or monotonous. Even if it’s formally written, it won’t be stiff. There will be some sort of humanity in the form of jokes or pop culture references. 

Use AI Detector

Using an AI content detector is indeed a quick and effective way to identify AI-generated content. As I mentioned earlier, AI content is based on specific writing patterns, structures, and word choices. Therefore, such a tool analyzes the content from this perspective to verify whether it is AI-generated or human-written content.

 It can easily detect which sentences, phrases, or even paragraphs in your content are likely to be AI-generated. Thus, you can easily paraphrase or replace them with high-quality human-written content. No doubt, AI detectors are great for judging AI-generated content, but you should also check the content manually as well to ensure a more thorough evaluation. 

Outdated Content

Since AI depends on its training or fed data and information, it lacks access to the latest studies, statistics, and news. Therefore, most of the AI content will provide you with outdated information. For instance, if any phone model was released last month and the AI content generator is not officially updated, then it won’t have any information about the phone. Therefore, it will provide you with information about what “it thinks” you are searching for. 

Absence of Personal Experience

The biggest trait of human writers is that they show empathy or humor through their content. Human writers try to make a connection with their audience. AI, on the other hand, just focuses on conveying information in a straightforward robotic way. They don’t ask questions or share insights or stories through their content. This is because AI relies on fed data; therefore, it can’t provide first-hand experience or reviews. 

Unconvincing Storytelling

AI content generators are unable to generate coherent stories and narrations. Their stories lack logical progressions, thus resulting in unconvincing and inconsistent storytelling. Therefore, their stories usually face abrupt changes between ideas and jump from one subject to another without proper transitions. 

The AI content is based on existing data or information that’s already fed to the tool; therefore, it can’t think beyond expected patterns of narration. Thus, the best way to identify AI-generated content is to look for the disjoint story and the lack of a coherent flow of arguments. Moreover, AI writers may also struggle with cultural nuances, social cues, or historical contexts that give stories their depth and meaning.

Conclusion

AI content may look polished, but spotting its flaws helps you create better and more meaningful writing. Focus on authenticity to connect with your audience and deliver value. Trust your judgment when analyzing tone, accuracy, and structure. Rely on tools as support, but let your instincts guide you. In a world driven by automation, human creativity and insight make all the difference. Use this knowledge to ensure your content feels genuine and leaves a lasting impact.