Was the article you read written by AI? What to look for…

QUICK NOTE: Generative AI is getting better sooo quickly this article might be obsolete in like 6-12 months so keep researching to stay ahead, I will too…

Beyond just a buzzword or viral topic, AI is showing up everywhere. Now, there’s arguments on both sides of this. Some say its destroying writing as an art, same thing for artwork, music, etc. Granted, I tried Suno.ai the other day for music and was shocked at how it’s advancing. Pretty sure the RIAA would be pissed if/when the first AI music Grammy is given out. Oh, wait.. been there, done that. Beatles anyone? Yeah, I know it was AI-assisted but that’s just step one folks.

Now others say, so what. If its accurate, then what’s the harm. If it’s a derivative work, people do the same thing right? Someone read Dickens and decide to make a story about two cities, or read Edgar Allan Poe and had nightmares about ravens saying nevermore. Regardless of which camp you’re in sometimes we still want to know where the thing you’re reading came from, right? So, that said let’s talk about this and the things that today in March of 2026 can help you determine “IF” (I said if because AI is evolving crazy fast) something was AI generated.

AI takes structure VERY SERIOUSLY

Us humans like to wander around in our heads and sometimes it winds up on paper on in online posts. Anyone who visits social media alot know exactly what I’m talking about. A tangent here, a circle back there. A random story about when they were a kid or someone they knew that did something that drives their point home. AI doesn’t do that a lot. YET!

I played with Claude the other day, GASP! Hey, if I don’t use these tools, how the heck can I write about them? I told it to write something, and I got “something.” It wasn’t horrible, but it felt kinda soulless if you get my drift? I especially loved the part where it tried to tell a story about how something finished while I was drinking my cup of coffee. Well, surprise to the AI, I don’t drink coffee. So, how was it going to know that? It all fairness it can’t and it tried. I told it to stop making stuff up, as I don’t drink coffee. It actually apologized and took that part out.

Getting back to my point, see I drifted there for a sec. AI needs work in this area, so watch for perfect content without stories that make sense or feel organic.

It really wants to sound SMART

I’ve even seen this from some human writers or talkers for that matter so this one might be harder to spot. People can be wordy and since AI was trained on people there ya go. Word salad to the rescue. It loves to over explain things and add “fluff” wording to topic. Stuff like: “It’s important to consider all the factors involved” or “There are both pros and cons to this approach.” Okay, were those statements really necessary? It’s filler words that don’t really add much. So, maybe the training content was full of a lot of puff pieces with little content. if so that’s the result.

Big words all over the place

Another side effect of wanting to sound smart are the big words someone looked up maybe in an online dictionary? I wanted to just say dictionary there, but it would betray how long I’ve been around back when we used paper 😉 Sure if you’re writing a Will and Testament or some contract there’s a place for this. Some people say you won’t see slang or sayings but lately some of the models do show this. Bottom line is this area is starting get a little “blurry.” I’ve read somewhere that AI models are advancing and that each release leap frogs the last one. So, one day they’ll be tossing slang and stories around like everyone else does.

Explaining things too much, is annoying…

Heck, I can get annoyed when people do this. Explaining every little thing like we are, well lets just say it, stupid or simple people. Here’s an example: “Social media, which refers to online platforms where users share content…” Did we really need that one spelled out for us? I mean if we just landed from another planet maybe but anyone who’s grown up around this time already knows what social media is. I guess the point is not to treat your readers like fools, something AI needs to realize and again give it 6-12 months and we’ll see where it goes.

There are tools that can help you spot it.

Copy a few sentences and search them. Run it through a tool like GPTZero or Originality.ai if you want a second opinion. And honestly? Trust your gut. If it feels like eating plain rice cake, something’s off.