7 Ways to Make AI-Generated Content Sound Human
AI can write a first draft in seconds, but the output usually reads flat. It's technically correct and structurally sound, but it doesn't sound like anyone in particular wrote it. Here are seven editing techniques that fix that.
1. Give it a voice
AI text defaults to a neutral, generic tone. Pick a specific voice and edit toward it.
- Decide whether the piece should sound casual, authoritative, friendly, or measured. Then be consistent.
- Write in second person ("you") or first person ("I") where it fits. It's more direct.
- Swap generic statements for specific ones. Instead of "Our product offers numerous benefits," say something like "I've found it cuts my editing time roughly in half."
The point is that readers should feel like a specific person wrote this, not a committee.
2. Use concrete details instead of abstract language
AI leans toward vague, sweeping statements. Specifics are more convincing and harder for detectors to flag.
- Replace "many users report positive outcomes" with an actual number or anecdote.
- Name things. "A 2025 survey by Content Marketing Institute" is better than "recent studies show."
- When writing about problems, describe what the problem actually looks like in daily life.
Generic: "Time management can be challenging for many professionals."
Specific: "You check your email at 9 AM and look up at 11:30 wondering where the morning went."
3. Vary sentence length and structure
AI text tends toward even, medium-length sentences. Human writers don't do that.
Mix it up. Short sentences hit hard. Then let a longer sentence carry more detail, maybe with a dependent clause or two, before you snap back to something brief.
Ask questions occasionally. It pulls readers forward. ("Sound obvious? It isn't — most AI output has almost zero variation in sentence length.")
Use active voice. "The team launched the feature" reads better than "The feature was launched by the team."
4. Add visuals and formatting variety
Walls of text lose people. Break content up with:
- Bullet points for lists (but don't make every section a list)
- Subheadings that tell readers what's coming
- Images or diagrams where they genuinely help explain something
- Short paragraphs — three to four sentences max
This isn't about decoration. It's about making the page scannable for people who are deciding whether to keep reading.
5. Be honest about limitations
AI defaults to confident, positive claims. Humans hedge, admit uncertainty, and acknowledge trade-offs.
- If something has downsides, say so. "This approach works well for blog content but struggles with technical documentation."
- Share actual experience, including failures. "We tried this on our Q3 campaign and it didn't move the needle."
- Avoid jargon unless your audience genuinely uses it.
Honesty builds trust faster than polished language does.
6. Add interactive elements
When it makes sense, invite readers to do something:
- Ask them a question and suggest they answer in comments.
- Include a poll, a quiz, or a decision framework they can use.
- End sections with a clear next step, not just a summary.
"What's the biggest friction point in your current content workflow? That's where you should start."
7. Edit with a specific reader in mind
Don't edit for "the audience." Edit for one person — a specific type of reader who would actually find this useful.
- Add insights or tips that come from personal experience, not just general knowledge.
- Cut anything that reader wouldn't care about.
- Read it out loud. If a sentence sounds awkward when spoken, rewrite it.
After AI drafts a blog post on productivity, adding something like "From my own experience, deciding the night before what tomorrow's top three tasks are makes the biggest difference" turns it from generic advice into something with a point of view.
Making it practical
You don't need to apply all seven techniques to every piece. Start with the ones that address your biggest problem:
- Text sounds robotic → focus on voice and sentence variation
- Text sounds vague → focus on concrete details and honesty
- Text feels impersonal → focus on editing for a specific reader
A tool like Humanize AI Pro handles the statistical patterns that detectors look for — sentence rhythm, word predictability, structural uniformity. The techniques above handle the part that tools can't: making the content genuinely useful and distinctly yours.
Use both. AI drafts the foundation. The humanizer breaks the detectable patterns. Your editing adds the voice and value. That combination works.