Telltale Signs of AI Text | Spotting AI Content

Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days, but not necessarily in the ways that science fiction predicted. Where we might have expected our own robot butlers by now, we’re more commonly seeing the internet crowded with AI-generated content. It’s essentially unavoidable these days, with our social media feeds piled high with slop videos and AI text littering corporate blogs.

Content marketing is an essential facet of SEO and building an organic online presence, but the ability to produce seemingly limitless content in seconds has changed the landscape of the industry. If you’re a business owner running your own content department or outsourcing copywriting, you might find yourself paying for text that’s barely been touched by a human hand.

AI is undeniably a powerful tool, but there are few limitations in place to ensure it isn’t misused. That’s why we’ve put together this blog offering insights on how to spot AI-generated text, highlighting telltale signs that anyone attempting content marketing should be aware of when reviewing work for quality. 

Overly promotional and fluffed-up content

One obvious sign of AI-generated content is the promotional, important-sounding way that people and things are described. For example, Ray Kroc might be described as “a titan of the casual culinary landscape” rather than “the investor responsible for popularising McDonald’s”. Specific facts are smoothed over in favour of statements of enhanced importance that relate to the broader topic. 

Another way to describe this would be ‘superficial analysis’, which uses extravagant language and imbues the content with a sense of editorial opinion. Areas are described as “dynamic hubs”, with statements about how creative work might have “captivated audiences and critics alike”. Any unnecessary verbosity, such as long, flowery sentences and paragraphs, can be interpreted in the same way.

And the final fluff you need to check for is regularly applied, unnecessary summaries that sum up shorter stretches of text throughout. 

Excessive use of vertical lists

AI chatbot language learning models tend to use vertical lists. These are bulleted, numbered or dashed lists, generally including a bold-faced header in title case followed by a colon. 

For example, a list of chest weightlifting exercises might look like: 

• Bench Press: (insert description)

• Cable Flies: (insert description)

• … 

And so on. 

Use of emojis

There have been studies about the value of emojis over the years, but while they’re commonplace in texts and emails, they’re also a sign you can use to detect AI text in blogs or long-form content. Generally, a human won’t include emojis in an op-ed or piece of academic writing, so it’s often a sign that a computer has been doing the work. 

Incorrect English (US vs UK)

AI chatbots have a habit of playing fast and loose with the form of English spelling they use in text. An article written for a British website might use American English and vice versa, with some pieces seeming to bounce between with reckless abandon. 

Overuse of — em dashes

Invalid links, unverified facts and strange references

When chatbots can’t gather the proper links, facts or references, they tend to fill in the gaps themselves. They might include hyperlinks to dead or irrelevant pages, offer estimated statistical ranges and include academic referencing that leads to nowhere. Unverified text without proper checks and balances is one of the clearest signs of AI taking the wheel. 

In the same vein, content might refer to vague, unchecked opinions, saying things like “have been described” or “some have said”, without anything to back it up. 

Prioritise quality, human-written content

These are just a few ways how universities spot AI cheats, but with advancements in the technology arising all the time, AI detection is getting harder day by day. That’s why it’s important to prioritise high-quality content marketing, created by real people. AI is a tool that can be used to great effect, but it’s not a replacement for a considerate, human touch. 

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