Spotting the Signs of AI Writing

NEW YORK -- Have you ever read a listing description, email, or blog post that just felt… off? Maybe it was too well-structured, or the tone was off, or used a phrase you see common in AI writing.

There’s a good chance it was written by artificial intelligence. As AI-generated content floods your email, blog posts, and other marketing materials, knowing how to spot AI writing – especially if you use it to help craft your messaging – can be invaluable.

So how do you tell the difference, and should you even care? After all, good writing is good writing, whether written by a bot or a human, right?

Well, AI has some writing style habits that are easy to spot. It’s not that it writes poorly. It just reads like AI created it. Understanding these habits can help you spot AI writing – and improve your final output if you rely on AI for writing assistance.

AI writing habits

If you receive an email from someone you don’t know that says, “I hope this finds you well…” it’s likely created by AI. You must teach most AI bots to remove this from your email drafts.

Telltale signs like this become more prevalent as you use AI to create content. Here are some other habits that often – but not always – indicate that AI has likely had a hand in the content’s creation: 

Overly formal tone. AI-generated content often avoids contractions and leans into stiff phrasing. Instead of writing, “You’ll love this cozy home,” it might say, “You will appreciate the comfort this home provides.” The difference may seem small, but that subtle lack of warmth clearly signals the writing isn’t human.

Repetitive phrasing. When a paragraph circles around the same idea two or three times using slightly different words, that’s a giveaway. For example, you might read: “This home is charming.” Then, in the following sentence, it says, “Buyers will be charmed by this home.” That kind of redundancy isn’t typical of a seasoned communicator.

Lack of contractions. If the writing feels stiff or overly formal, it may be because it avoids contractions like “you’re” or “can’t.” AI defaults to complete phrases unless told to write in a more natural voice. Human writers tend to use contractions, especially when speaking.

Leads that start with a participial phrase. If a sentence opens with something like “In today’s ever-evolving real estate market…” that’s a red flag. These setups are standard in AI-generated content and often feel generic or formulaic. They sound polished, but they rarely offer anything fresh or personal.

Cliché openers or empty transitions. AI loves to begin with filler like “In the fast-paced world of real estate” or “As technology continues to evolve.” These phrases try to sound insightful but don’t add to the meaning. If it sounds like the first line of a high school essay, that’s usually your clue. 

Predictable structure. When every paragraph is about the same length, transitions feel mechanical, and each sentence is perfectly symmetrical, it starts to feel like a machine following a checklist. Humans tend to mix it up with some sentences short and others longer, so it doesn’t sound rehearsed.

Too-perfect transitions and symmetry. When every paragraph is the same length, and every point is introduced with overly tidy transitions like “Moreover,” “Additionally,” or “In conclusion,” it can feel lifeless. That’s because AI often mirrors academic structure unless told otherwise. Real human writing includes more variety and voice.

Free AI detectors

Free online AI detectors can help but don’t rely on them blindly. Services like GPTZero, ZeroGPT, Writer’s AI Detector, and CopyLeaks offer quick scans. Just paste in the text, and you’ll get a score that tells you whether the content is “likely AI” or “likely human.”

These tools can be helpful, especially when you need a second opinion. But they aren’t always consistent. The same paragraph can be flagged as AI by one tool and passed as human by another.

Why? Each tool uses different models and scoring criteria, which are constantly evolving. Some are trained only on specific versions of AI tools, so if a piece of content was written with a newer model, it may not be detected. 

Finally, many of these tools have a word or character limit. If you break the content into chunks, it can give you a false positive result.

A better option for detection

If you’re using Grammarly (paid version), you’ve got access to a built-in AI writing detection feature that’s more reliable than most free tools. Unlike others that give a vague overall score, Grammarly highlights individual sentences and paragraphs that it suspects were generated by AI. That allows you to revise specific parts of a paragraph instead of guessing where to make edits – and get instant feedback on if you’re successful. 

Grammarly doesn’t just tell you what AI might be but also gives you clues as to why it made that determination. And while it’s not perfect – no AI detector is – it tends to catch the most common AI tells: repetitive phrasing, vague generalizations, and overly symmetrical structure. If you are not using the paid version of Grammarly – used by many professional writers – this additional feature makes it even more worth it. 

Add a “prevent” AI writing prompt

The best way to ensure AI writing doesn’t sound like AI writing is to add instructions to your prompts.

Ask AI to avoid AI writing habits (list them out) and to “humanize” your content in your voice. ChatGPT paid versions can remember your voice. Once you teach it, you can ask it to write as if you were speaking to a client. Even if it’s just one sentence, that sentence can make a huge difference to the reader.

And remember, the prompt is just the start. Every AI-generated draft still needs a human editor who knows how agents talk and what clients want to hear.

The goal is to use AI in the best way to assist you with creating content but not let your AI bot do all the talking.

Need assistance?

Using AI this way is new to most agents, and you might get stuck. If you are unsure about a tech tool – AI or otherwise – reach out to Tech Helpline. Trusted by over 730,000 agents across North America, it’s the No. 1 real estate tech support resource. From AI questions to tech troubleshooting, Tech Helpline is there to assist.

Source: Tech Helpline

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