How to Tell if Something Was Written by AI (The Reader's Guide)

If you've read enough AI-generated content, you start to recognize it the way you recognize a chain restaurant from the highway. Something about the shape of it feels familiar before you can name why. Here are the patterns worth knowing. Not the vague ones about "sounding robotic" — the specific ones you can actually spot. 1. It opens by restating the obvious AI tends to start with a sentence that justifies the article's existence. "In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, content creation has become more important than ever." That's not an opener. It's throat-clearing. Humans who have something to say usually start by saying it. Watch for openers that define the topic rather than engage with it. A cover letter that starts "As a highly motivated professional with extensive experience in the field" is doing the same thing. So is a report that opens "This document will examine the key factors that contribute to..." 2. The transition words are load-bearing Furthermore. Moreover. Add