Are you a Gen-AI Spotting Ninja? How to spot content straight from ChatGPT & other Gen-AI Tools a mile off! Daily Dose of Digital - 02/12/2024

Ever scrolled through a blog (or, more commonly, LinkedIn post) and wondered, “Did a human write this - or was it spun out of ChatGPT?” Well, in today’s "ever-evolving digital marketing era", generative AI is a powerful force reshaping how content is produced (see what I did there?). But ChatGPT and other Gen-AI content creation tools have a quirk: they leave behind a distinct linguistic fingerprint, one that sharp-eyed readers can spot a mile away!

In today's Daily Dose, I'll share some of the most common flags I see on the regs, and try and unpack why it could be a bad move for your brand if you retire your human content machines too soon.

The Overused Phrases of Gen-AI

AI-generated text often features phrases and stylistic habits that, while polished, lack the organic quirks of human communication. Here are some dead giveaways:

1. Grandiose Openers

AI loves to set the stage with dramatic flair. You'll no doubt have come across:

• "In the ever-evolving landscape of digital transformation…"
• "Let’s embark on a journey to uncover…"

It’s not always an epic saga, guys. Sometimes, it’s just keyword stuffing in disguise (very thinly veiled disguise).

2. Repetitive Adjectives and Verbs

Look out for these usual suspects:

• Unveiling the power of…
• Let’s delve into…
• Elevate your strategy by leveraging…

Humans might say “introduce” or “use,” but AI prefers words that sound like they belong in a TED Talk... all... the.... time!

3. Dramatic Imagery

AI loves analogies that transform mundane tasks into full-blown Broadway productions:

• “Life is a rollercoaster, and so is your SEO journey.”
• “Cleaning your inbox? It’s a tango of productivity.”

Reality check: us humans rarely compare sock shopping to a "dance of decisions."

4. AI’s Favourite Vocabulary

AI-generated content loves to dip into a pool of highbrow vocabulary, often choosing words that sound polished and professional but which leave readers rolling their eyes. Here’s a list of just some of AI’s favourite words (feel free to add your favourites in the comments!).

• Rapidly-evolving: If every industry is “rapidly evolving,” why hasn’t someone “rapidly evolved” us some flying cars already?
• Leverage: Because apparently, “use” is too pedestrian. Bonus points if the content is about "leveraging synergy"??.
• Transformative: AI believes every app update is as transformative as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Spoiler: It’s not.
• Dynamic: "Dynamic" seems to be AI’s polite way of saying, “We’re making it up as we go along.”
• Deep dive: More often than not, the “deep dive” is a shallow paddle through surface-level facts you could've just Googled.
• Ever-changing: The ever-changing landscape of marketing feels oddly the same since around 2008 - with the only ironic exception being Gen-AI? ??
• Seamless: Newsflash: Most “seamless” solutions still come with an onboarding manual thicker than a dictionary or 15 hours of YouTube tutorials.
• Empower: Everyone’s empowering everyone these days. Is this empowerment or just a buzzword wearing a cape? (Rather annoyingly, this is in my actual vocab quite a lot. Soz!)
• Tapestry: Unless we’re weaving rugs, there’s no need to call a project a “tapestry of innovation.”
• Unleash: Someone tell AI that not everything is a wild beast waiting to be unleashed, least of all a new spreadsheet tool.
• Marvels: “Marvels of modern technology” isn’t even true for Marvel movies anymore.
• Buckle up: Why are we always buckling up for things like “revolutionary CRM updates”? Are seat belts mandatory for PDFs now?
• Orchestrate: Unless you’re waving a baton at an orchestra, let’s just say “coordinate.” Oh wait. Is that just as bad? Argh!
• Resonate: “This will resonate with your audience” sounds good until it echoes into the void of zero engagement. (Guilty of using this one IRL to be fair!)
• Elevate: Elevate this, elevate that - meanwhile, our stress levels are actually the only thing being elevated, because marketing is such an 'ever changing' world. Apparently.
• Game-changer: Apparently, every SaaS tool is a game-changer. Monopoly had fewer game-changers than marketing copy.
• Seize the opportunity: Are we talking about buying a CRM or staging a coup? Calm down, Napoleon.??????
• Thriving: How many industries are “thriving” simultaneously? Feels suspiciously optimistic, AI - I'd just fact check that one maybe?
• Unprecedented: Every week brings “unprecedented” developments. At this point, even precedents have precedents.
• Insightful: AI uses “insightful” for things that barely scratch the surface. It’s like calling a puddle the Pacific.
• Robust: How “robust” can a marketing email campaign be? It’s not a tank.
• Journey: Why does every task have to be a journey? Sometimes, it’s just Googling how to format Excel cells, we're not all Frodo Baggins-ing everything!!!
• Landscape: If AI is right, every landscape is ever-changing, dynamic, and in need of a good gardener.
• Catalyst: Is it really a “catalyst for change” or just an email autoresponder?
• Pioneering: Is it pioneering or just slightly ahead of someone else who hadn’t gotten around to it yet?
• Streamline: If AI had a dollar for every time it streamlined something, it could probably streamline my finances.
• Innovative: The word “innovative” is now so overused it’s about as innovative as toast.
• Captivating: AI thinks everything is captivating. Except, ironically, the content it describes this way.
• Holistic: Somehow, even software needs to be “holistic.” Do we need a therapist for our apps now?
• Cutting-edge: If everything’s on the cutting edge, where’s the blunt middle?

Next time you spot this word salad, you’ll know an algorithm was probably in the kitchen.

Humans might drop a few buzzwords here and there (guilty! ????♂?), but not with this level of relentless enthusiasm. While elegant, these words generally lack specificity and feel like they’re chasing gravitas for gravitas' sake (is that even a phrase?).

Patterns Beyond Words

AI content doesn’t just give itself away with its vocabulary. Its structural patterns are just as revealing.

1. Predictable Flow

AI often writes with textbook precision. Introduction, bullet points, summary. Humans? We meander. We ramble. We throw in quirky asides. Well, I do anyway. I digress...

2. Over-explaining the Obvious

AI-generated content often spells out basic ideas as if narrating a high-school debate:

• “It is crucial to note that social media plays an essential role in digital marketing.” Did you need AI to tell you that?

3. Safe Opinions

AI avoids controversy, sticking to neutral or overly diplomatic takes. Humans, on the other hand, have biases, strong opinions, and occasionally push boundaries.

4. Shiny but Empty

Even with perfect grammar and flow, AI content can feel hollow. Without human anecdotes, humour, or emotion, it struggles to engage readers authentically.

Why This Matters for Brands

The rise of AI-generated content has made authenticity a "currency" when it comes to digital marketing, especially in content terms. Here's why brands should care:

1. SEO Knows, Too: Google’s helpful content system prioritises authentic, value-driven material. Bots and crawlers are as good at spotting generic AI fluff as we are.
2. Diluted Brand Voice: Churning out unedited AI content risks reducing your brand to a cliché generator.
3. Audience Trust: Content that lacks the human touch fails to resonate. Your audience craves connection, not just keywords.

How to Use Gen-AI Without Losing Authenticity

Generative AI is an incredible tool - if used wisely. It excels at jump-starting ideas, but here’s some tips on how to avoid the pitfalls:

1. Start, Don’t Finish

Use AI for first drafts or ideation & brainstorming, but you should always add your expertise, personal anecdotes, and edits.

2. Customise the Model

Train a custom AI model aligned with your brand’s voice to minimise generic output. But, again, see point 1 - even a trained model shouldn't be used to replace you!

3. Test for Authenticity

Read your content aloud. If it feels like it belongs in a corporate instruction manual, humanise it further. Then humanise it some more.

4. Inject Personality

Infuse stories, humour, and insights that only a human could bring. These elements are SEO gold these days, as well as actually making the content more readable!

Generative AI content is everywhere, but the savviest marketers understand its limitations. The key isn’t to reject AI but to refine its output with a personal touch. After all, your audience doesn’t want “perfect.” They want real. And that’s something only you can really deliver.

Got some more classic AI-isms? Drop them in the comments!