It’s Obvious You Used ChatGPT to Do Your Homework
By Daniel Anstandig, CEO and Co-Founder of Futuri
I’m a huge AI fan. Seriously, I use it every day for brainstorming, research, first drafts, the works. It makes us all more productive and creative. But if you’re just copying and pasting whatever ChatGPT spits out, everyone can tell. And it undermines your credibility, sadly.
BECAUSE everyone is using AI, everyone has seen enough AI-generated content to spot the patterns from a mile away. And when they realize you couldn’t be bothered to add your own voice or even review what you’re publishing, they think you’re just copying+pasting+sending. It’s like you’re a busy-work-generator.
I’ve seen great posts where someone used AI to sketch out a story, then layered in a killer personal detail like a client call gone sideways or a hot take on the Spotify charts. Suddenly, it felt alive instead of like a robot.
Use AI… but then make it yours. Strip out the robotic phrases, inject your personality, add real examples from your actual life. Because right now, there are some dead giveaways that scream “I let ChatGPT write this and called it a day.”
Here are the biggest red flags that tell everyone you’re powered by ChatGPT rather than your own magical brain.
Clichéd descriptors and phrases that give you away and make you seem LAME!
- “At its core… ____ is a…” BARF
- “It’s more than a ___, it’s a ____”
- “In today’s fast-paced world”
- “Revolutionary,” “game-changing,” “cutting-edge,” “state-of-the-art”
- “Seamlessly,” “effortlessly,” “perfectly”
- “Dive deep,” “unpack,” “explore the nuances,” “delve”
- “Tapestry,” “landscape,” “ecosystem,” “journey”
- “Hope you’re well” … ☠️delete!!
- “I wanted to reach out to…”
Formulaic phrasing patterns:
- “Not just X, but Y”
- “X is both Y and Z”
- “While X, it’s important to remember Y”
- “From X to Y, and everything in between”
- “Whether you’re X or Y…”
Overused transitions and connectors:
- “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” “Additionally” at the start of every other paragraph
- “In conclusion,” “To sum up,” “All in all”
- “On the other hand,” “Conversely,” “Nevertheless”
- “It’s worth noting that…” or “It’s important to note that…”
Structural giveaways:
- Excessive use of numbered lists and bullet points
- Three examples for everything
- Perfectly balanced paragraphs of similar length
- Opening with a restatement of the question
- Ending with a summary that repeats everything just said
Hedging and qualifier overload:
- “Can be,” “may include,” “often involves,” “typically”
- “It’s generally accepted that…”
- “Research suggests,” “Studies show” (without citations)
- Multiple disclaimers and caveats
Other red flags:
- Em dashes—used excessively—for emphasis—all over—the place
- Unnecessarily formal or academic tone for casual topics
- Perfect grammar but zero personality or voice
- Generic examples that could apply to anything
- Explaining obvious things in detail
- Never taking a strong stance on anything
