Blog Post by AnySue May 2025
Artificial intelligence writing tools like ChatGPT have become incredibly common. They can generate essays, resumes, blog posts, and even love letters in seconds. But with their rise comes a new question: how can you tell if something was written by AI or a human?
The truth: AI-generated text often leaves subtle fingerprints. At the same time, real human writing has quirks that no algorithm has fully mastered. Spotting the difference is part science, part intuition.
The Common Signs of AI Writing
AI writing tends to look polished, but sometimes too polished. Here are the most common giveaways:
- Repetitive transitions. Phrases like “In addition,” “Moreover,” or “Overall” appear in patterns that feel formulaic.
- Even, robotic tone. AI avoids strong opinions, humor, slang, or emotional quirks unless prompted.
- Perfect grammar, zero typos. Ironically, this can look less human. Most people make small mistakes.
- Generic phrasing. Sentences that sound smart but don’t really say much, like “Technology has greatly influenced our lives in many ways.”
- Lack of lived experience. AI struggles to share personal anecdotes or sensory details the way people naturally do.
The Human Touch: Traits AI Rarely Replicates
Humans bring texture and unpredictability to writing. If you want to know whether something feels genuinely human, look for these signs:
- Personal stories. A human writer might casually mention, “When I was in college, I pulled an all-nighter and spilled coffee on my laptop.” AI doesn’t volunteer messy details like that.
- Imperfect rhythm. People write in bursts, sometimes rambling or mixing short, sharp sentences with long ones.
-Strong voice. Humor, sarcasm, passion, or even a little snark, these emotional fingerprints show authenticity.
- Quirks and contradictions. Humans say things like “I know this sounds ridiculous, but…” AI avoids those natural slips.
- Typos and formatting inconsistencies. Not fun, but very human.
Tools That Help Spot AI Writing
Technology can also help detect technology. Some of the most popular tools include:
- GPTZero – Free, popular with teachers.
- Originality.ai – Paid, highly accurate, often used for SEO and hiring.
- Turnitin – A classroom staple, now with built-in AI detection.
These tools measure “burstiness” and “perplexity”, basically, how predictable the text is. Human writing tends to be messy and unpredictable; AI writing is smoother and more uniform.
⚠️ But beware: No tool is perfect. Sometimes humans get flagged as robots, and sometimes robots slip through as humans.
How Humans Spot AI Instinctively
Often, it’s not a tool but intuition that reveals the truth. Teachers, recruiters, and editors read so much that they notice when writing feels “off.”
- A teacher recognizes when a student’s essay suddenly jumps from average to flawless.
- A recruiter spots resumes stuffed with buzzwords but no real detail.
- An editor senses when a piece sounds polished but lacks soul.
Why This Matters
- In education: It protects academic integrity.
- In hiring: It ensures resumes reflect real skills, not AI polish.
- In content marketing: It helps brands keep authentic voices that connect with audiences.
A Quick Test You Can Use
Here’s a simple checklist if you’re trying to figure it out:
1. Does it sound too perfect?
2. Are there personal touches or just generic phrasing?
3. Do the sentences all flow evenly without natural quirks?
4. Does the tone match the person’s past work?
5. If in doubt, run it through a detector and then trust your gut.
Final Word
AI is powerful, but it can’t fully capture the messy brilliance of human thought. Real writing carries fingerprints of personality: the tangents, the inside jokes, the little flaws that make us human.
So, while AI can assist and speed up the process, true authenticity still belongs to people.