5 Signs Your Blog Post Was Written by AI (And How to Fix Each One)

You just ran your latest blog post through an AI detector and it came back 94% likely AI-generated. Even though you wrote it yourself. Or maybe you used ChatGPT for a first draft and now need to make it sound like you actually wrote it.

Either way, AI detection tools are looking for specific patterns. Here are the five biggest giveaways — and concrete fixes for each.

1. Every Sentence Is the Same Length

AI models love uniformity. They'll generate paragraph after paragraph of 15-20 word sentences with almost no variation. Read your post out loud. If it sounds like a metronome, that's a problem.

The fix: Mix it up deliberately. Follow a long, complex sentence with a short one. Three words. Then stretch out the next thought across two or three clauses. Real writing has rhythm because real thinking isn't uniform.

Before: "AI writing tools can help you create content quickly. They generate text based on patterns in training data. The output often sounds professional and polished. However, it may lack the personal touch that readers expect."

After: "AI writing tools are fast. Nobody's arguing that. But speed creates a problem — the output reads like it was assembled from a kit. Professional? Sure. Polished? Technically. But it sounds like everyone else's content because it literally comes from the same source."

2. Vague Statements That Sound Smart but Say Nothing

"In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape" tells your reader absolutely nothing. AI defaults to these broad, safe statements because they're statistically common in training data. They fill space without committing to a specific claim.

The fix: Replace every vague statement with something concrete. Instead of "many businesses are adopting AI tools," write "my marketing team cut our first-draft time from 3 hours to 40 minutes using Claude." Specific numbers. Named tools. Real experiences.

3. The Same Transition Words on Repeat

Furthermore. Moreover. Additionally. In conclusion. If your post leans on these connectors, it reads like a term paper from 2004. AI models overuse formal transition words because they appear frequently in the structured text they trained on.

The fix: Cut most of them entirely. You don't need "furthermore" if your next paragraph logically follows the last one. When you do need a transition, use conversational ones: "here's the thing," "but that breaks down when," or just start the sentence with "and" or "but." Your English teacher might object. Your readers won't.

4. No Opinions, No Friction, No Voice

AI-generated text hedges everything. "It could be argued that..." "Some experts believe..." "There are pros and cons to consider." It never plants a flag because it's trained to be helpful and balanced, not opinionated.

The fix: Take a position. Say "this approach doesn't work" instead of "this approach may not be suitable for all use cases." Share what you actually think based on what you've actually tried. Readers connect with writers who have a point of view, even when they disagree.

5. Perfect Grammar, Zero Personality

Flawless grammar is paradoxically a red flag. Real writers use fragments. Start sentences with conjunctions. Occasionally bend a rule for emphasis. AI writes like it's trying to pass a grammar exam because, well, it kind of is.

The fix: Write like you talk, then clean up only what's genuinely confusing. Keep the fragments that add punch. Leave in the contractions. If you'd say "gonna" in a conversation about this topic, maybe don't write "going to" in your post. The goal is clarity and voice, not perfection.

Putting It All Together

Run your next draft through this checklist before you publish:

1. Read it out loud — does the rhythm vary?
2. Highlight vague statements — can you add specifics?
3. Search for "furthermore," "moreover," "additionally" — can you cut them?
4. Find the hedging — where can you commit to a position?
5. Check for personality — does this sound like you or like anyone?

If you want to speed up this process, tools like tclaw.dev can flag AI patterns in your writing and help you fix them before detectors do. But the core skill is the same whether you use a tool or not: write like a human who has something specific to say.

The irony of AI detection is that it's pushing all of us to be better writers. More specific. More opinionated. More ourselves. That's not a bad outcome.