9 words that make your writing sound like AI
Nine words that quietly tell a reader your draft came out of an AI, and the plain word to use instead.
None of these are bad words. People wrote them long before chatbots existed. The problem is frequency: AI reaches for them far more often than a person would, so a page carrying several of them starts to feel machine assembled even when the argument is good.
The list, with the swap:
delve, say dig into
leverage, say use
pivotal, say key
testament, say proof
tapestry, say mix
showcase, say show
garner, say get
nestled, say sits
renowned, say well known
A quick way to use this: run a find on each word before you send anything. It takes under a minute and it catches most of the vocabulary problem in one pass.
Two things worth knowing while you are editing.
Plainer is almost always better anyway. Every swap on that list is shorter and easier to read, so you are improving the writing, not just hiding its origin.
And vocabulary is only half the job. You can strip every flagged word out of a paragraph and it will still read as machine written, because the sentences underneath are all landing at the same length with the same rhythm. Words are the easy fix. Structure is the real one.
In my experience, catching those subtle AI-like words really helps bring more life and authenticity to writing. When I first started editing my drafts, I noticed that words like "leverage" and "pivotal" made my sentences sound stiff and overly formal, almost robotic. Switching these out for simpler terms like "use" and "key" instantly made the text easier to read and more relatable. But beyond swapping these nine flagged words, what truly transformed my writing was rethinking sentence structure. AI-generated text often has a rhythm and length consistency that's too uniform—every sentence feels like it paces exactly the same. To counter this, I experimented with varying sentence lengths and mixing in questions or short, impactful statements. This breaks the monotony and gives the content a more natural, human flow. For example, instead of saying, "This article showcases the key benefits," I might say, "Let’s look at the key benefits. Here’s why they matter." This makes the text feel more conversational and less mechanical. Using the list as a checklist is a quick and effective editing trick—I simply run a search for each word before finalizing any draft, which takes less than a minute but catches much of the AI tone problem at once. Also, striving for plainer, shorter words improves clarity, which benefits all readers. Lastly, I highly recommend not just focusing on vocabulary but also reading your work aloud or having someone else review it. This helps identify parts that still sound artificial, ensuring a genuine human tone shines through. Ultimately, writing naturally doesn't mean avoiding all complex words—it's about using language thoughtfully and varying sentence flow to keep readers engaged and make your message compelling.
