The Operator's Checklist for Spotting AI in Your Own Writing

Quick Take

Most copy that ships in 2026 has AI in it. That is not the problem. The problem is that AI introduces specific, recognizable patterns that your readers can clock in three seconds, and most writers can’t see those patterns in their own work because they wrote it. Here is the checklist I run on every page before publishing. The same patterns also let a founder review an inbound deck or LinkedIn post and tell whether the operator pitching them is actually doing the work or just narrating from a model.

If you’ve ever read a piece of copy, gotten a vague “this feels off” reaction, and not been able to say why, it was probably one of the patterns below.

Most of these tells are not “wrong.” They’re just statistically over-represented in AI output. A real human writer might use one of them now and then. AI writers stack five of them in the same paragraph.

The Twelve Tells

1. The em dash, used as filler

Em dashes are not banned in English. Real writers use them. AI uses them constantly, often in places where a period or comma would land harder. If your piece has an em dash in every other sentence, you wrote it with AI in the loop.

Example to fix:

• AI: “Most accounts I audit have a tracking problem before they have a media problem — bad data leads to bad bids leads to wasted spend.”
• Human: “Most accounts I audit have a tracking problem before they have a media problem. Bad data leads to bad bids. Bad bids lead to wasted spend.”

2. Decorative triplets

“X, Y, and Z.” When three is the right number of things, list three things. When three is just rhythm, you are imitating Steve Jobs’s keynote cadence and the reader feels it.

Example to fix:

• AI: “Strong messaging, fast testing, and accurate tracking built for real-world performance.”
• Human: “Copy that filters for buyers. Tracking clean enough that Meta can optimize.”

3. “Not just X, but Y” constructions

The reversal feels balanced and wise but says very little. Cousin: “X, not Y.”

Example to fix:

• AI: “We don’t just run ads. We build full-funnel revenue programs.”
• Human: “I run paid acquisition, the conversion tracking under it, and the strategy on top.”

4. Empty intensifiers

Truly. Really. Actually. Literally. Simply. Absolutely. Fundamentally. Essentially. Ultimately. In many ways. None of these add information. They add a beat.

Example to fix:

• AI: “It’s actually the most important thing you can do.”
• Human: “It’s the most important thing you can do.”

5. Corporate verbs

Leverage. Utilize. Facilitate. Drive. Optimize for. Empower. Unlock. Unleash. Harness. These verbs were corporate clichés before AI showed up and they got worse from there. The replacement for “leverage” is “use.”

6. Buzzword adjectives

Robust. Comprehensive. Holistic. World-class. Best-in-class. Industry-leading. Transformative. Seamless. Scalable. Cutting-edge. Innovative. None of them mean anything specific. None of them help a reader picture what you actually do.

7. Adjective stacks

Three adjectives in a row before a noun. “A powerful, comprehensive, effective solution.” Pick one. If you can’t pick one because all three matter, the noun is probably wrong.

8. Cliché openers

“In today’s fast-paced world.” “Imagine if.” “Have you ever wondered.” “Here’s the thing.” All of these are AI’s way of clearing its throat. Cut to the actual point.

9. Empty preambles

“It’s important to note that.” “It’s worth mentioning.” “What’s interesting is.” If something is important, just say it. The preamble signals you weren’t sure if the next sentence would land on its own.

10. Wisdom-rhetoric

The sentence that takes a position then immediately balances it away. “Marketing is both an art and a science.” “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” “Success is a marathon, not a sprint.” These sentences sound profound and contain almost no information.

The variant that’s specifically AI-flavored: “X is not a Y problem, it’s a Z problem.” Real diagnosis is rarely that clean.

11. Excessive parallel construction

When every sentence in a paragraph has the same shape, it reads as a rhythm exercise rather than thought. Especially common in lists where every item starts with the same verb tense.

Example to fix:

• AI: “I review every output before it ships, every claim before it goes in a deck, every render before it touches your catalog.”
• Human: “I review every output before it ships. Every claim before it goes in a deck. Every render before it touches your catalog.”

(Same words. Different rhythm. The fragments break the AI-cadence.)

12. Marketing-template phrasings

Phrases that have been used so many times in marketing copy they no longer mean anything. “Drive results.” “Deliver value.” “Exceed expectations.” “Tailored solutions.” “Vanity metrics.” “Real-world performance.” “Move the needle.” “Game-changer.”

Replace each with the specific thing you actually mean. “Drive results” becomes “double qualified leads in 90 days” or “cut spend 30 percent.” Specific beats sweeping every time.

The Pattern Tells

Beyond individual phrases, watch for these structural patterns:

• Every paragraph ends with a “punchline” fragment. AI loves to end on a short stinger. One per page is fine. Five per page is a tic.
• Every section is a numbered list. AI defaults to bullets and numbered lists when prose would land harder. If your piece is 80 percent bullets, rewrite at least one section as paragraphs.
• Every claim is balanced by a counter-claim. Real positions have edges. If your piece never takes a stance and stick with it, you sound like you have no opinion.
• Headlines that mirror each other. “Two words. Two words.” headline pattern repeated across multiple sections. Once is signature. Four times is a template the model fell in love with.

The Three-Step Audit

If you want this in printable form, the two-page Voice Audit Checklist has all twelve tells plus the three-step sweep on a single sheet. Free, no email.

Run this on any piece before publishing:

Step 1: The em dash sweep. Search your file for em dashes. Replace every one in user-facing copy. Use periods, commas, or rephrase. Code comments and developer-facing strings can keep them.

Step 2: The intensifier sweep. Search for: truly, really, actually, literally, simply, absolutely, fundamentally. For each match, decide if cutting the word changes the meaning. Almost always, no. Cut it.

Step 3: The triplet check. Find every “X, Y, and Z” pattern. For each, ask: does the reader need three things or am I padding for rhythm? If the third item is weaker than the first two, cut it.

That sweep alone removes most of the AI signature from a piece without forcing a full rewrite.

What NOT to Cut

The patterns above are common AI tells. They are not banned in human writing. Don’t be paranoid:

• Italic emphasis on a word or two. Real writers do this all the time.
• Short fragments for rhythm. Operators write in fragments. Marketers don’t.
• Repetition for effect. “Tracking first. Tracking always.” That’s intentional. Leave it.
• Specific lists of three when three is right. “Google, Meta, and Microsoft” is three because there are three platforms. That’s not a tell.
• Direct quotes from clients or interview subjects. Never edit verbatim quotes.

Why This Matters For Founders

The stakes are not aesthetic. They are credibility. In 2026, founders and senior buyers are reading every piece of marketing copy with an AI filter on. They’re trained to spot the patterns above because they’ve seen them in 10,000 LinkedIn posts and inbox cold emails.

The moment a reader’s filter triggers, you go from “interesting consultant” to “another consultant who outsourced their writing to a chatbot.” You can’t unring that bell on the same page.

The fix is not to stop using writing tools. The fix is to use them as a draft engine and do the editing work yourself. The patterns above are your edit checklist.

The version of you that ships AI-flavored copy and the version that ships clean copy are reading the exact same writing. The difference is whether you’ve done the sweep.

If you want to see what the cleaned version looks like in practice, the rest of this site is run through this exact checklist. The free Setup Audit PDF is the most extensively edited document on the site, twenty five pages, multi-pass voice audit. Read it as a reference for what operator-direct voice reads like in the wild.

Keep going

If this hit, the next two pieces in the same universe:

• The Workflow That Lets Me Ship a Site in 24 Hours. The input-layer workflow that makes any writing tool fast enough to need this checklist.
• Nine GTM Tags in 90 Minutes. The same operator pattern applied to ops instead of copy.

Free PDF: The two-page Voice Audit Checklist. No email gate.