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Amol Ghemud Published: October 9, 2024
Summary
AI-generated content can be identified through specific word patterns and repetitive phrases commonly used by tools like ChatGPT, such as “navigate,” “dynamic landscape,” and “unlock insights.” The post also discusses the role of prompt engineering and how basic prompts often lead to generic AI responses. While tools like ZeroGPT are available, experienced marketers can often spot AI content by analyzing the contextual overuse of these phrases. The article concludes that AI is a useful tool, but human intervention is necessary to add emotion and depth to the content.
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As marketers, we have come across a fair share of clients saying, “We want our copies to be 100% human-written.” The irony of this situation is that whether the content is human-written or AI-written is itself checked with the help of AI.
As humans with a highly functioning brain capable of decoding dark matters of space, we give ourselves very little credit when it comes to identifying AI interference. If we can make unimaginable scientific breakthroughs, the least we can do is identify what’s human-written and what’s not (and also take due credit for it!).
Is It Okay to Use ChatGPT?
Change is the only constant! We feel it is absolutely okay to use ChatGPT. As we move forward technologically, adapting to the rapid changes is the only way to stay relevant.
However, it is not that simple when it comes to using ChatGPT as a writer or marketer. The simple rule to follow is “The more information you give, the better output you get.”. What we observe with marketers using ChatGPT copies everywhere is that there are the most generic copies you may find on ChatGPT.
In simpler words, it is a result of the most basic prompt that has been fed, and the very first response generated by GPT is simply copy-pasted! And that’s the catch where you can easily identify whether the copy is human-written or AI-written.
How to Identify AI-written Content?
Of course, you can use various tools like ZeroGPT available in the market to help you identify whether the content is human-written or AI-written. But let us give you our honest opinion – they seem pointless!
There is no harm in using AI to help you curate content. We believe it is a great starting point for brainstorming ideas that the human brain might not come up with that easily or quickly!
Going back to the golden rule – “The more information you give, the better output you get”, engineering the prompt is what makes or breaks the output you are looking for. And certainly, you might get some AI jargon along the way, but hey, you can fix that, right?
When you feed ChatGPT the most basic prompt, you get pretty basic responses as well. The first giveaway is some specific words that ChatGPT ALWAYS uses! If you are a writer who has been around ChatGPT for a while now and knows your way around it, you know exactly what we mean.
What Are Some Common Words or Phrases Used by ChatGPT?
This is our favorite part! Here is an extensive list of some common words and phrases that can help you identify whether the copy presented to you is AI-written:
Common Words Used by ChatGPT
Delve
Embark
Embrace
Navigate
Moreover
Nonetheless
Furthermore
Elevate
Insights
Ever-evolving
Fast-paced
Crucial
Dynamic
Landscape
Unleash
Unlock
Enlighten
Leverage
Pivotal
Realm
Utilize
Nevertheless
Common Phrases Used by ChatGPT
In the ever-evolving landscape of…
In the dynamic world of…
In the rapidly changing…
Let us delve into…
Whether ____ or____…
A testament to…
It’s worth noting that…
It is important to consider…
Actionable insights…
This list does not suggest that the use of these words or phrases means that the copy is 100% AI-written. But if you notice the overuse of these words and phrases, then yes, it is exactly what we mean!
Final Thoughts
AI and ChatGPT are both here to stay. And yes, they are great tools to save tons of time and effort (especially to write about some you are not an expert at!). So, is your job as a writer shortlived? We beg to differ.
Even though AI is here for the long run, it is very evident that human interference is absolutely necessary. No matter how skillfully you engineer your prompts and get an amazing response, you will need a human to add that touch of emotion and spark to the copies to make them stand out.
So, should you use ChatGPT? Sure, why not? But don’t just use it; learn how to use it skillfully!
We will keep updating this list monthly. Until then, let us know what terms you have encountered and think should be included!
For Curious Minds
The central conflict for marketers is that the demand for purely human content is often verified by imperfect AI detectors, creating a cycle of technological dependence. This situation underscores a fundamental misunderstanding of AI's role, where its perceived flaws are checked by another AI. True quality assurance comes not from a detector's score but from a skilled editor's ability to spot the subtle, yet distinct, hallmarks of unrefined AI output. Instead of outsourcing judgment to a tool, the superior strategy is to develop an internal standard for what constitutes authentic, brand-aligned communication. An editor can identify issues like an over-reliance on specific words, a lack of emotional nuance, and a generic structure, which an AI checker might miss. This human-led review process is essential for maintaining a genuine connection with your audience. Discover how to build a review process that reliably distinguishes between inspired and artificial content.
This principle directly counters the creation of generic, easily identifiable AI text by forcing the model beyond its default, high-level responses. Feeding ChatGPT basic prompts results in copy filled with clichés and predictable phrasing because the AI defaults to the most common patterns in its training data. Effective prompt engineering involves providing specific context, brand voice guidelines, target audience details, desired tone, and negative constraints. For instance, instead of asking for 'a blog post about marketing,' a superior prompt would specify the post's goal, key takeaways, intended reader persona, and a list of words to avoid. This detailed instruction guides the AI to produce a more tailored and nuanced draft, making it a powerful starting point rather than a weak final product. Learn precisely what information to include in your prompts to transform your AI outputs.
The choice between AI detection tools and a manual review process depends on your team's primary goal: speed or quality. A tool like ZeroGPT offers a quick, scalable way to screen large volumes of content for potential AI generation, which is useful for initial checks or freelance submissions. However, these tools can be unreliable, producing false positives and negatives. A manual, human-led review process is superior for ensuring brand voice alignment, emotional resonance, and strategic nuance. Key factors to weigh include:
Scale: AI tools are better for high-volume content operations.
Quality Bar: For high-stakes copy, human review is non-negotiable.
Team Expertise: A skilled editorial team can spot AI tells more accurately than any tool.
Budget: Manual reviews require more time and skilled personnel.
Ultimately, a hybrid approach often works best, using tools for a first pass and experts for the final judgment. Explore the full article to determine the optimal quality control workflow for your team.
These words act as linguistic red flags, signaling that the text was likely produced from a simple prompt without meaningful human refinement. ChatGPT and similar models often default to this type of formal, slightly grandiose language because it appears frequently in the vast datasets they were trained on. While a human writer might use a word like 'insights' or 'dynamic' occasionally, an AI-generated draft will often overuse them, creating a repetitive and unnatural tone. An editor's task is to spot these patterns of repetition. The presence of three or more of these giveaway words in a single paragraph is a strong indicator of an unedited AI output. This recognition allows editors to quickly triage content, identifying pieces that require substantial rewrites to align with a more authentic and distinct brand voice. See the complete list of words to watch for and sharpen your editing skills.
These formulaic phrases expose a lack of creativity and reveal the AI's tendency to rely on conversational templates. When given a generic prompt, ChatGPT often begins with a broad, context-setting opener like 'In the ever-evolving landscape of…' because it's a safe and common way to introduce a topic. This approach signals that the user did not provide a unique hook, a specific angle, or a compelling story to frame the content. The originality of the content is immediately compromised because it starts from a place of cliché rather than a fresh perspective. For editors and content managers, spotting these phrases is an immediate cue that the writer likely copy-pasted the initial output without adding any human ingenuity or strategic thought. A strong writer would replace such a generic opening with a compelling question, a surprising statistic, or a relatable anecdote. Read on to learn how to transform these weak openings into powerful hooks.
A structured process ensures AI serves as a creative catalyst, not a crutch. Integrating ChatGPT effectively requires discipline to separate its ideation capabilities from its writing style. The goal is to harvest concepts and outlines while retaining full control over the final expression and tone. Follow this three-step plan:
Step 1: Broad Ideation with Constraints. Prompt the AI for blog topics, angles, or questions about a subject, but add constraints like 'for a skeptical audience' or 'using a contrarian viewpoint' to push beyond generic ideas.
Step 2: Outline Structuring. Select the best idea and ask the AI to generate several different outlines for it. Request variations, such as a list-based structure, a problem-solution format, or a narrative-driven approach.
Step 3: Human-Led Drafting. Ignore the AI's prose entirely. Use the chosen outline as a scaffold to write the article from scratch in your brand's unique voice, drawing only on the generated structure for guidance.
This method ensures you get the benefit of AI's speed without sacrificing authenticity. Discover more advanced techniques for each of these steps within the full piece.
To get a high-quality draft, your prompt must act as a comprehensive creative brief. Vague instructions yield vague results, so specificity is paramount for guiding the AI toward your desired outcome. A powerful prompt blends strategic goals with creative constraints to shape the AI's output from the start. An effective prompt for a marketing email should always contain these five elements:
Objective: Clearly state the email's primary goal (e.g., 'Drive sign-ups for a webinar').
Audience: Describe the target recipient in detail (e.g., 'CMOs at mid-sized SaaS companies who are struggling with attribution').
Key Message: Summarize the single most important point the email must convey.
Tone of Voice: Provide three to five adjectives that define your brand's voice (e.g., 'authoritative, insightful, and approachable').
Call to Action: Specify the exact action you want the reader to take.
Providing this level of detail transforms ChatGPT from a generic writer into a focused assistant. Learn how to refine these components even further in the complete guide.
Content strategists must shift their focus from spotting clumsy AI mistakes to evaluating higher-order strategic qualities. As AI improves, the current 'tells' like repetitive words will fade, making detection based on style alone nearly impossible. The new frontier of quality control will be about verifying authenticity and strategic depth. Future-proofed review processes should prioritize elements that AI struggles to replicate authentically: personal anecdotes, novel opinions, and proprietary data. The key questions will no longer be 'Does this sound like a robot?' but 'Does this offer a unique perspective?' or 'Is this supported by our company's exclusive insights?' Teams should build content workflows that require writers to incorporate these elements, making human experience and original thought the core differentiators. Explore how to build these new quality gates to maintain your competitive edge.
The role of a writer will transform from a creator of raw text to an architect of compelling narratives. As AI proficiently handles the foundational task of drafting, the writer's value will concentrate on uniquely human skills that AI cannot yet master. Their focus will shift from sentence construction to strategic direction, emotional calibration, and narrative design. Tomorrow's most valuable writers will be those who excel at:
Prompt Artistry: Crafting sophisticated prompts that function as creative briefs.
Strategic Editing: Infusing generic drafts with brand voice, unique insights, and persuasive storytelling.
Conceptual Synthesis: Connecting ideas in novel ways and forming original arguments that AI cannot generate on its own.
Audience Empathy: Adjusting tone and message with a deep, intuitive understanding of the reader's emotional and practical needs.
This evolution makes the writer's job more strategic, not obsolete. Dive deeper into the specific skills that will define the next generation of content creators.
This practice leads to generic copy because the first AI output is designed to be a safe, broadly applicable starting point, not a finished product. ChatGPT generates its initial response by predicting the most probable sequence of words based on its training data, which naturally favors common phrases and conventional ideas. Relying on this first draft means you are publishing the most average version of your message. The immediate solution is to treat the AI as a collaborative partner in an iterative process. Instead of accepting the first response, engage the AI with follow-up commands to refine it. You can instruct it to 'make the tone more conversational,' 'rewrite this from the perspective of a skeptic,' or 'replace the jargon with simpler language.' This back-and-forth dialogue is essential for pushing the content beyond its generic baseline. Find out how a few simple follow-up prompts can dramatically improve your AI drafts.
A more reliable method is to develop and enforce a detailed, human-centric style guide that codifies your brand's unique voice. Instead of just checking for AI tells, this approach proactively builds a strong, defensible brand identity. The focus shifts from policing for robotic text to championing your specific communication style. An effective human-centric review process involves checking content against a guide with clear rules on:
Brand Vocabulary: A list of on-brand words to use and overused corporate jargon to avoid.
Sentence Structure: Guidelines on rhythm, length, and complexity that define your brand's cadence.
Perspective: Defining the specific viewpoint or personality your brand embodies (e.g., the helpful expert, the witty challenger).
Emotional Tone: Articulating the core feelings your content should evoke.
By making this guide the foundation of the editing process, you empower your team to create consistently authentic content, whether the first draft came from a human or an AI. Learn how to create a powerful style guide in the full article.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
Growth Strategy and Planning
