The Self-Check Process
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The Self-Check Process
Before publishing AI-assisted content, run this audit.
Step 1: Search for Red-Flag Phrases
Open find-and-replace and look for: “the answer surprised me,” “here’s the thing,” “it’s not X it’s Y,” “this is what separates,” “and honestly,” “that’s when it clicked,” “delve into,” “moreover,” “furthermore.”
If you find more than two of these, you’re probably looking at unedited AI output.
Step 2: Check Patterns
Same transitions repeatedly? Lists within lists? Every section starts with “Not this/But this”? All sentences roughly the same length?
Patterns reveal themselves through repetition. One formulaic comparison might be intentional. Five formulaic comparisons in 1,000 words is a tell.
Step 3: Read It Aloud
This catches more problems than any other technique. Does it sound like you talking, or like a motivational poster? Would you say these sentences in conversation? Does it have rhythm, or does it march in lockstep?
If you stumble reading it aloud, your readers will stumble reading it silently.
Step 4: Compare to Your Previous Work
Pull up something you wrote before using AI regularly — preferably something you’re proud of, something that felt naturally you. Does your AI-assisted work match that voice?
If not, edit until it does.
What You’ve Just Developed
You now have the ability to spot AI slop in your own writing before you publish, in competitors’ content for strategic intelligence, in cold outreach emails to save time on low-effort contacts, in team members’ work as coaching opportunities, and in industry publications for trust calibration.
More importantly, you can systematically eliminate these patterns from your own writing.
You’re seeing AI patterns everywhere and it’s kind of ruining the internet. Good. That awareness is your superpower. But spotting the problem isn’t the same as preventing it. The next module gives you the systematic process for teaching AI to write in your voice instead of its generic default.