The Human Touch: Editing AI-Written Content for Authenticity

How to craft content that sounds natural, engaging, and distinctly human

With rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, writers have a powerful new tool at their disposal — AI content generation, of the kind that is offered by my startup called Olympia. As useful as this technology is, directly publishing AI-written content often betrays its automated origins. By taking the time to thoughtfully edit machine-generated text, we can craft content that sounds natural and human.

As a professional author, I’ve learned to recognize the telltale signs of AI writing and compiled a list of the most common AI giveaways. By systematically editing these out (or even incorporating the advice given here into your prompts) we can make generated writing take on the style and cadence of human communication without compromising quality.

Common Signs of AI Writing to Address

In my experience editing machine-generated text to publication standards, several unnatural phrases and patterns tend to frequently appear:

1. Buzzwords Like “Transformative”

AI has a tendency to overhype ideas as world-changing advancements using flashy buzzwords. For example, common phrases include “leverages a transformative approach” or “the platform is transformative.”

The fix? Remove unnecessary superlatives. Does using a simpler description alter the core message? If not, go with plain, clear language.

2. Overused Verbs Like “Foster”

You’ll often see repetitive verbs like “foster” used as catch-alls when specifics would be more appropriate. For instance, “Our initiative fosters communication and collaboration across departments.”

The fix? Switch to a more context-relevant verb like strengthens, enables, builds, etc.

3. Pretentious Descriptors Like “A Tapestry of Interconnected Data”

Flowery metaphors are another giveaway, such as describing a knowledge base as “an intricate tapestry of interconnected data.”

Most of us never write stuff like that. The fix? Simplify to “interconnected datasets” or “a network of knowledge.”

4. Vague Phrases Like “This Product is All About…”

No matter how good your prompt and context is, AI generally lacks sufficient knowledge to dive deep on details of what you’re writing about. Using weak, non-specific explanations like “this smartphone app is all about family connectivity” signals automated content.

The fix? It’ll take work, but look for those generalities and replace with concise, descriptive statements.

5. Overused Segues Like “Think of this as…”

AI often relies on conversational segues like “think of online courses as your portal to career advancement.”

The fix? Restructure to directly state the metaphor’s meaning.

6. Filler Phrases Like “It’s Like…”

ChatGPT frequently uses filler phrases like “it’s like having a business consultant in your pocket.”

The fix? Remove and rework the sentence to be more direct.

7. Repetitive Structures Like “Not Only…But Also”

While occasionally useful, defaulting to the “not only…but also…” structure betrays automation. For example, “This app not only organizes your tasks but also optimizes workflows.”

The fix? Change to use “and” or restructure the sentence completely.

Why Editing AI Content is Essential

Using the above tips to remove trademark AI language, we can utilize machine-generated writing responsibly while crafting content that resonates as distinctly human. At Olympia, we’ve automated a lot of the work I’ve just mentioned by breaking up the job of creating finished writing to two AI assistant: Leticia, our copywriter and Calvin, our copy editor.

When tackling a writing job on Olympia, first you let Leticia write the draft, and then you switch the conversation to Calvin and have him critique the work. Teamwork is one of the big differentiating factors that sets Olympia apart from basic AI assistants such as ChatGPT.

A Call to Responsibly Adapt Our Writing Craft

Rather than viewing ever-improving AI writing tools as threats, we can embrace them while still taking care to uphold standards of authentic connection with readers. AI promises to augment our capabilities exponentially — but it still takes human insight to communicate truth and heart. Our duty as writers, now more than ever, lies in that essential human touch.