How to Figure Out If You're Reading AI-Generated Content

AI expert Rumi Robinson shares the biggest tells that something was written by AI

Co-authored by Travis Boylls Reviewed by Rumi Robinson

Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Fact Checked

AI-generated text has become a valuable tool to some, as well as bane to others. AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT can produce writing that appears to be human-like on the surface. For those who work in education or content creation, detecting AI writing can be a real challenge. Luckily, there are some subtle ways to detect if writing is from a person or a machine. This wikiHow article teaches you how to detect AI writing.

How to Spot AI Writing

AI expert Rumi Robinson says the common signs that something was written by AI are an overly professional tone, sentence structures like “It's not [blank], it's [blank]," and em dashes. AI writing may also contain a lot of repeating words, information that is incorrect, or vague and unimportant details.

1

It gets flagged by AI detection tools.

Check the writing with a tool. There are plenty of AI-detection tools online that you can use to detect if writing is AI-generated. However, AI detection tools do have their limitations and should not be relied upon solely. You should use multiple tools in conjunction with other verification methods. If possible, compare the writing with the student's or author's previous writing to see if there are any differences. Some AI detection tools include the following:^{[1]
X
Research source}^{[2]
X
Research source}

2

AI chatbots recognize it as AI-generated.

In addition to using one of the many AI detection tools online, you can also use AI itself to detect AI. For example, you could go the ChatGPT website and use the prompt "Did you write this?" Then upload or copy and paste the text. It will tell you if the text was written in ChatGPT or not.^{[3]
X
Research source}

3

It didn't take long to finish.

AI can produce paragraphs of writing in a matter of seconds. If an assignment is turned in way earlier than expected, that could be a red flag.

4

It is too perfect.

Most students are not expert writers. Even professional writers can have an occasional typo. If the writing is abnormally perfect, especially compared to their previous writing, this could be a red flag that the writing was AI-generated.

5

A lot of reliance on lists and bullet points.

Students and new writers often struggle with how to organize information and may not write in this format. If you see a lot of bullet points and lists when it seems like most people wouldn't write this way, it could be AI-generated.^{[4]
X
Research source}

6

It's monotonous and lacks emotion.

If the writing doesn't use any informal words or phrases, or slang terms, this could be a sign that it was written in AI. AI writing will typically have an unemotional, robotic tone. It lacks personal experience and reflection. If the author doesn't express any strong emotions or strong opinions, this could be another red flag.^{[5]
X
Research source}

7

It's got incorrect facts.

AI generates text by placing words together in a way that aligns with common patterns in the text it was trained on. It doesn't actually know anything. Furthermore, many AI chatbots are trained on outdated information. If the information is incorrect or cites made up sources, it could be generated by AI.^{[6]
X
Research source}

8

The writing is formulaic and predictable.

Look for an excessive amount of commonly used words and phrases. AI works by piecing together commonly used words and phrases from other sources. As a result, it tends to produce a large number of repeated words and phrases that a person wouldn't use in real life. It also uses a formulaic sentence structure, such as paragraphs that start with a strong opening sentence and end with a summary sentence.
- To see a comprehensive list of commonly used words and phrases that AI uses, check out this subreddit.

9

It has a lot of vague or unimportant details.

For example, if you are reading a product review and it includes a lot of detailed descriptions about things most people wouldn't find important, it could be written by AI. Likewise, if you are reading an article you found on Google and the information doesn't satisfy your search intent, it could be written by AI.

10

The narrative is incoherent.

AI struggles with coherent storytelling. It may contain events that don't naturally flow together. It may also contain social cues and cultural nuances that feel unnatural, or historical contexts that are inconsistent or factually incorrect.

11

It didn't understand the assignment.

If the assignment was to write an article in a specific format, and the writing deviates too much from that format, it could be written by AI. If a student is instructed to cite a specific data source and writing gets its source from somewhere else, that could be a sign of AI writing.