Does your writing sound like AI?
Paste an email, a LinkedIn post or a page of copy. You'll see every phrase that makes readers think a machine wrote it, why they notice, and what to write instead.
The check runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent or saved.
Paste something above to check it.
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Christian Terrone posts how our cold email system works, with the real numbers behind it.
Follow on LinkedInWhat it looks for
Template openers
The first lines automated sequences use.
- I hope this email finds you well
- I came across your profile
- Just checking in
Stock closers and sign-offs
Endings that ask for nothing in particular.
- Don't hesitate to reach out
- Let me know if you have any questions
- Hop on a quick call
AI vocabulary
Words models overuse and people rarely say out loud.
- delve
- seamless
- elevate
- game-changer
Sentence shapes
Patterns readers now link with AI, even when every word is plain.
- It's not X, it's Y
- The result?
- Here's the thing
Punctuation
The em dash above all, and the dashes standing in for it.
- —
- --
Leftovers
Placeholders, merge fields and chatbot lines that slipped through.
- [First Name]
- As an AI language model
- Certainly! Here's
Where the list comes from
This list started as the copy checker every email and LinkedIn post we write has to pass before it goes out. Each time we catch a new AI phrase in a draft, it goes on the list.
It checks phrases, not authorship. A person can write every one of these, and a model can write without any of them. What it shows you is what your reader will notice.
Questions
Does this tell me whether AI wrote my text?
No, and nothing can do that reliably. It shows the phrases readers have learned to link with AI, so you can decide what stays. A person can write every one of them, and AI can write without any.
Is my text saved anywhere?
No. The check runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to us or stored.
Why are em dashes on the list?
AI models use them so often that many readers now treat one as a sign a machine wrote the text. That's unfair to the em dash, but it's how people read now. A period or a comma does the same job without the doubt.
What does Watch it mean?
Those phrases are fine once. They become a tell when they pile up, or when they sit in your first line.
Why does it skip phrases in quotation marks?
Quoting a phrase is talking about it, not using it. If your post says you'd never write a certain stock line, naming that line in quotes shouldn't count against you.
Who made this?
Astrid Labs, a cold email agency for B2B service firms. We write cold emails and LinkedIn posts every week, and each one passes a check like this before it goes out.