🤖 Is This AI or a Real Writer? 12 Clues to Spot a Bot

Introduction

The other day, I found myself scrolling through an article, wondering if the words on the screen were written by a person—or a bot pretending to be one. It’s weird how much this thought pops up now. Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are so good at faking human-like writing that sometimes it feels impossible to know.

And honestly? It’s unsettling. Because if we can’t detect AI writing, how do we trust what we’re reading?

That’s why this article exists—to help you detect AI writing before it tricks you. Whether you’re scrolling through blogs, reading an email, or even questioning a social media post, these 12 signs will help you spot the bots.

1. The “Perfect Spelling” Syndrome

I don’t trust perfect spelling. Not in texts, not in emails, and definitely not in articles that sound a little too polished.

People mess up. We type too fast, we get tired, and we misspell words like “definitely” (looking at you, “definately” people). AI? It doesn’t have that problem. Every word is polished, every letter in the right place, like it’s trying too hard to impress.

When you’re trying to detect AI writing, this is one of the easiest giveaways. The text feels… too perfect. No typos. No clumsy fingers slipping on the keyboard at 3 a.m. And while I envy that precision sometimes, it also feels a little lifeless.

Humans make mistakes. AI doesn’t. And that’s exactly what makes AI so easy to spot.

2. Overusing the Word “Crucial”

I never noticed how much I hated the word crucial until I started trying to detect AI writing.

It’s everywhere. In AI-generated emails, blog posts, even product descriptions. AI acts like everything is crucial. It’s crucial to stay productive. Crucial to optimize your workflow. Crucial to follow these crucial tips.

No one talks like that. Real people use different words—important, necessary, maybe even a simple must. But AI? It clings to crucial like it’s the only word in the dictionary.

One time, I tested this theory and asked AI to write an article about time management. Five paragraphs in, I had counted crucial seven times.

That’s how you detect AI writing—when a word shows up so much, it starts to feel like it’s staring at you. Like it knows you know. And yet, it keeps repeating itself, just waiting for you to catch on.

3. Bland Neutrality: The Switzerland Effect

When you’re trying to detect AI writing, this is one of the clearest signs. AI doesn’t care about opinions. It plays it safe, balancing everything like a nervous people-pleaser. You’ll read sentences like,

“On one hand, AI is useful. On the other hand, it has limitations.”

And you’ll sit there thinking, Okay, but what do you actually mean?

Humans? We’re messy. We pick sides. We argue about pineapple on pizza, rant about bad Wi-Fi, or call AI “overrated” just to stir the pot. AI doesn’t do that. It’s like that one friend who never wants to offend anyone—it gives you both sides of an argument but never tells you how it really feels.

I once read a blog about productivity tips. The AI spent three paragraphs saying, “This method is great, but it might not work for everyone.” It was so painfully neutral I wanted to scream. That’s when I knew it wasn’t human.

If the writing feels like it’s trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings, that’s your clue. When you see this bland, middle-of-the-road tone, it’s a big red flag in your quest to detect AI writing. Because humans? We love taking sides, even if it’s just to make things interesting.

4. “Unlock the Power of…”

I hate reading things that sound like an ad. The second I see “the power of productivity” or “the secrets to success,” I stop taking the words seriously. If you want to detect AI writing, watch for these phrases. AI-generated content is obsessed with them.

I once read an AI-written blog post that started with: “Transform your daily routine and achieve peak efficiency.” I kept waiting for it to say something real, but it just danced around the idea, stacking one vague sentence on top of another.

Humans don’t write like that. We don’t talk like that either. If someone asked me how I stay productive, I wouldn’t say, “I have unlocked the power of efficiency.” I’d probably say something like, “I make a to-do list so I don’t forget my own life.”

That’s the problem with AI—it’s polished but empty. The words are there, but the meaning isn’t. If something reads like a self-help book that forgot to include real advice, you’re probably looking at AI. That’s one of the easiest ways to detect AI writing—when the sentences sound big but say nothing at all.

5. Textbook Grammar: The Polite Robot in the Room

There’s something about AI writing that feels like a teacher grading your essay—formal, proper, and maybe a little too polite. If you want to detect AI writing, listen to the voice.

AI doesn’t relax. It avoids contractions, skips slang, and writes everything with perfect grammar. Instead of saying, “You gotta be clear when you write,” it says, “It is important to ensure clarity in communication.” Which, let’s be honest, sounds like a robot trying to impress its English professor.

Humans don’t talk like that. We’re messy. We start sentences with “and” or “but.” We use shortcuts, slang, and sometimes we just don’t finish our—well, you get the point.

I once read a blog that said, “One must carefully review the material to ascertain its accuracy.” No one says ascertain unless they’re pretending to be smarter than they are. That’s how I knew it wasn’t human.

If the writing sounds overly polished, like it’s too afraid to break a rule, there’s your clue. AI might know grammar better than any of us, but it doesn’t know how to let loose. And that’s why spotting this perfect, stiff tone is one of the easiest ways to detect AI writing. Real people leave the rules behind every now and then. AI doesn’t.

6. Middle School Essay Syndrome: Repeating the Question

There’s something about AI writing that feels like a teacher grading your essay—formal, proper, and maybe a little too polite. If you want to detect AI writing, listen to the voice.

AI doesn’t relax. It avoids contractions, skips slang, and writes everything with perfect grammar. Instead of saying, “You gotta be clear when you write,” it says, “It is important to ensure clarity in communication.” Which, let’s be honest, sounds like a robot trying to impress its English professor.

Humans don’t talk like that. We’re messy. We start sentences with “and” or “but.” We use shortcuts, slang, and sometimes we just don’t finish our—well, you get the point.

I once read a blog that said, “One must carefully review the material to ascertain its accuracy.” No one says ascertain unless they’re pretending to be smarter than they are. That’s how I knew it wasn’t human.

If the writing sounds overly polished, like it’s too afraid to break a rule, there’s your clue. AI might know grammar better than any of us, but it doesn’t know how to let loose. And that’s why spotting this perfect, stiff tone is one of the easiest ways to detect AI writing. Real people leave the rules behind every now and then. AI doesn’t.

7. Over-Eager Conclusions

AI loves a happy ending, but not in the way humans do. When you’re trying to detect AI writing, pay attention to how it wraps things up. It doesn’t just end—it gives you a pep talk you didn’t ask for.

You’ll read sentences like, “With these tips, you’re on your way to success!” or, “Consistency is the key to achieving greatness!” And then you realize—no one talks like that.

Humans, on the other hand, don’t tie things up with a perfect bow. We leave conclusions half-done, say “good luck,” or just stop mid-thought because we’re out of energy. AI? It’s desperate to make you believe everything’s fine, that you’re inspired, that this article changed your life.

Once, I read an article that ended with, “Now you have everything you need to conquer your goals with ease!” And I just sat there, wondering—what goals? What ease? It sounded so forced, like it was trying too hard to be uplifting but missed the point entirely.

When a conclusion goes overboard with positivity, that’s a big clue. Real humans don’t sugarcoat everything, and we don’t always know how to end things perfectly. So, if the last line reads like it came straight from a self-help seminar, it’s probably AI. And that’s another solid way to detect AI writing.

8. Lack of Anecdotes or Personal Touch

AI can write a lot of words, but it can’t tell a story. If you want to detect AI writing, look for the mess—the moments that feel too clean, too polished, too... empty.

Humans don’t just give advice. We talk about that time we spilled coffee on our laptop five minutes before a deadline. We rant about the job interview we bombed and what we learned from it. We overshare about our dog interrupting a Zoom meeting and somehow making it better.

AI doesn’t do that. It gives you textbook explanations without any real-life chaos. Instead of saying, “I once completely forgot about a meeting and had to wing it,” it’ll say, “Proper preparation is essential for professional success.” And that’s how you know it’s not human—no panic, no regret, no awkward laughter about how it all went wrong before it went right.

I once read an article about overcoming failure. It had perfect grammar, structured advice, and not a single moment of actual failure. Just generic lines like, “Persistence leads to improvement.” No mention of crying in the bathroom after messing up. No frustration. No personal struggle. Just words that meant nothing.

That’s why spotting AI is easy—it forgets that being human is messy. If there’s no real experience, no small details that make you laugh or cringe or nod in recognition, it wasn’t written by a person. And that’s another way to detect AI writing—it has words, but it doesn’t have a story.

9. Consistent Sentence Length

AI writes like it’s following a strict rulebook. Every sentence is neatly structured. Every paragraph flows in an orderly, almost robotic way. No unexpected pauses. No abrupt shifts. Just smooth, predictable rhythm. And that’s a dead giveaway when you’re trying to detect AI writing.

Humans don’t write like that. We ramble. We throw in a short, punchy sentence. Then, suddenly, we go off on a tangent, explaining something completely unrelated but somehow still relevant, filling the page with a mix of thoughts, pauses, and unfinished ideas that somehow just work.

AI doesn’t do chaos. It doesn’t write a sentence that stretches for three lines just because the thought won’t stop spilling out. It won’t start with something simple like, “This is important.” and then immediately follow up with a ridiculously long explanation that spirals into a side note about that one time you wrote a blog post at 3 a.m. and forgot half of it the next morning.

Instead, AI-generated text moves at the same pace. Line after line, sentence after sentence, all neatly aligned like soldiers in formation. And that’s how you detect AI writing—it doesn’t get messy. It doesn’t surprise you. It doesn’t wander or break its own rhythm.

If you read something that feels too polished, too evenly spaced, too controlled—there’s a good chance it wasn’t written by a person.

10. Overusing “Ensure”

AI’s madly in love with the word “ensure.” It’s everywhere. In every explanation. In every step-by-step guide. It just keeps popping up. “Ensure you follow this.” “Ensure your process is optimized.” “Ensure everything runs smoothly.” Over and over, like it’s stuck on repeat.

Humans don’t talk like that. We say, “Make sure” or “double-check.” Or, honestly, we skip it altogether. Because who really needs to “ensure” everything when they’re just trying to explain how to make breakfast or fix a typo?

If you want to detect AI writing, count how many times “ensure” shows up. Once? Maybe it’s a person trying to sound professional. Twice or more? It’s probably AI, polishing the sentence too much, trying to sound perfect, and ending up robotic instead.

The difference is in the tone. Human writing has a natural flow, like someone talking to you over coffee. AI sticks to formalities, and “ensure” is one of its favorite tools. So next time you’re reading something and it’s overly focused on “ensuring” things, trust me—it wasn’t written by someone spilling coffee on their laptop while rushing to finish a deadline. It’s a machine trying way too hard to sound human.

11. No Humor

AI doesn’t crack jokes. It doesn’t mess around with sarcasm or throw in a bad pun just for fun. It writes like it’s afraid to offend someone—like it’s stuck in a never-ending polite email chain where everyone signs off with “Best regards.”

Real people joke, even when they’re not trying to be funny. We complain about our coffee going cold, make fun of our own typos, or laugh at how we tripped over the same sidewalk crack twice in one day. AI? It sticks to business. If you ever read something that sounds too clean, too proper, too… serious, you might need to detect AI writing.

Read a piece and ask yourself, “Would a human ever say this out loud?” If the answer is no, chances are a bot wrote it. Because no real person is out here saying, “It is imperative to optimize one’s workflow for maximum efficiency.”

Humans say, “Man, I gotta stop wasting time.”

And if there’s zero humor—no bad jokes, no sarcastic side comments, not even a single playful jab—there’s a good chance you’re dealing with AI.

12. The “List Obsession” Phenomenon

AI is obsessed with lists. It breaks everything down into neat little sections, each with a bolded subheading, a numbered step, and a conclusion that sounds straight out of a self-help book. Humans? We jump around. We ramble. We connect ideas in ways that don’t always make sense at first—but that’s the charm of human writing.

If you’ve ever read an article that seems to be following an invisible checklist—“5 Reasons You Need This,” “10 Steps to Success,” “7 Must-Know Tips for Beginners”—there’s a good chance AI wrote it. Lists aren’t bad, but when every paragraph is a perfectly structured point with no natural flow, it starts to feel… robotic.

Real people don’t write like that all the time. Sometimes we tell a story, go off on a tangent, and then circle back—messy, but real. AI sticks to a format. If every section feels like it was designed to fit into a “Top 10” article, you might need to detect AI writing before assuming a human was behind it.

Conclusion

By now, you’ve got a pretty good sense of how to detect AI writing. The spotless grammar, the stiff structure, the overuse of words no human actually says—it all gives the bot away. AI tries too hard to sound perfect, but real writing is messy. It has opinions. It gets a little chaotic. It jumps between thoughts.

So don’t write like a machine. Let your words be unpredictable. Throw in a joke. Write how you talk. AI can’t copy that, no matter how hard it tries.

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