The Dead Giveaways: How to Spot AI Writing That Tries Too Hard

Last week, our marketing manager Sarah forwarded me an email that made my skin crawl. The subject line was fine: "Partnership Opportunity." But something about the body text felt wrong. Too smooth. Too perfect. No typos, no personality, no human messiness.

Turns out it was ChatGPT-generated spam. The dead giveaway? Every sentence was exactly the same length, and the writer kept saying "it's worth noting that" like they were paid per mention.

This happens to us constantly now. AI writing tools have flooded the internet with content that looks professional but feels hollow. We've spent three years building content tools at BlockForge, and we've watched this shift destroy authentic communication.

You need to know how to spot AI-generated content. Not because AI is evil, but because your ability to find genuine voices depends on it.

The Weird Spacing Thing

AI makes formatting mistakes that humans rarely do. We analyzed 200 AI-generated articles last month and found spacing errors in 78% of them. Extra spaces before punctuation marks. Random paragraph breaks that kill reading flow.

The punctuation gets sloppy too. AI mixes em dashes with hyphens randomly, or throws semicolons everywhere like it's trying to impress your high school English teacher.

Watch for quotation marks that face the wrong direction or switch between "smart quotes" and "dumb quotes" mid-sentence. These seem minor, but they add up to something that feels machine-made.

Sentences That Try Too Hard

AI has no chill. It turns "This is hard" into "This particular endeavor presents considerable challenges that require careful consideration and strategic planning." Real humans don't talk like that.

We see this in our user feedback constantly. People send us AI-generated bug reports that sound like they were written by robots pretending to be humans. They repeat the same idea three different ways in one paragraph because AI thinks more words equal better communication.

The writing stays vague and generic. Real humans include specific details. AI gives you broad statements that could describe anything.

The Personality Problem

AI writing sounds like it was written by someone who learned English from insurance manuals. No opinions. No passion. Everything gets hedged with "it's worth noting that" or "one might consider."

Three months ago, we got pitched by a "content creator" who claimed to write authentic startup stories. Every piece sounded exactly the same. No personality. No risk-taking. No genuine voice.

The tone shifts randomly too. One paragraph sounds friendly, the next turns academic. Human writers maintain consistent voice because they're actually human.

The Phrase Recycling Program

AI has favorite phrases it cannot stop using. "In conclusion," "it's important to note," "overall," "that being said," and "moving forward" show up like clockwork.

We built a simple tool that flags these phrases in our own content. When we tested it on suspect articles, it lit up like a Christmas tree. AI stuffs keywords unnaturally into sentences, forcing "content marketing" into every other line until it sounds robotic.

Missing the Human Mess

The biggest tell? Zero personal experience. AI cannot tell you about the time it screwed up a product launch or learned something from failure. It has no stories, no lived experiences, no genuine moments of vulnerability.

Last year, we published a post about our biggest product mistake. It got 10x more engagement than our generic how-to guides. Why? Because it was real. AI can't fake that kind of authenticity.

AI humor falls flat too. It makes safe jokes that offend nobody and surprise nobody. Real humans take risks. AI plays it safe.

The Fake Facts Problem

AI invents statistics, misquotes sources, and references events that never happened. We caught one AI article citing a "Stanford study" that didn't exist and quoting a CEO who turned out to be fictional.

This isn't intentional lying. AI doesn't know it's making things up. But the result is misinformation presented as fact.

Why This Actually Matters

We're not anti-AI. We use AI tools when they make sense. But knowing the difference between human and AI content helps you make better decisions about what to trust and share.

As a content creator, spotting AI writing helps you avoid generic patterns that make writing feel soulless. As a reader, it helps you find authentic voices worth following.

The writers who share real experiences, take genuine risks, and offer unique perspectives become more valuable, not less.

Making AI Writing Human Again

If you use AI tools, you can humanize the output. Add specific examples from your own experience. Insert your actual opinions. Cut the filler phrases and unnecessarily complex sentences.

Most importantly, use AI as a starting point, not a finishing point. Let it handle the first draft, then rewrite it in your own voice with your own stories and insights.

We ship. We listen. We improve. That's what real humans do. AI just ships.

The future isn't human versus AI. It's humans using AI thoughtfully while preserving what makes human communication valuable: authenticity, specificity, and genuine insight.

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