I got a 12-page, 4,253-word report to edit the other day. It started well enough with a good summation of the issue and a quick overview of what was to come. The author was someone I've not edited before, so I didn't have a sense of whether this was their voice or not, but it seemed pretty in line with the company tone. Cool.

But as I read, I noticed the familiar patterns that AI had done most of the work. Here's what tipped me off:

Organization and logic

Each section followed the same structure, probably because each section's topic was used as a prompt. Same number of paragraphs (maybe that was in the prompt, too?) and often slightly out of logical order and frequntly buried the lede. I admit that this one's more of a feeling that you get after reading several sections.

Fix: Reorganize to create a more logical flow.

Sentence patterns and fluency

Almost every section included at least two sentences that included a semicolon. We love to bash the em dash (undeservedly), but for me, the giveaway is the semicolon sentence. I use semicolon sentences sometimes — more often introduce a bullet or numbered list — but not in every section of a long-ass paper. This is a pattern I see a lot more since the rise of AI. The machines learned it somewhere, but like the em dash, they overuse it, living out the curse of too much of a good thing. (There were a few em dashes on the scene, but they were correctly deployed.)

There was another recurring pattern, that's not an x problem, that's a y problem, but that's so niche that I think it's probably the author's doing (it's used as the paper's title.) It might have been an effective device, referencing the title as it does, but with the other repeated pattern, it didn't feel natural or clever.

Fix: Look for repeated patterns, including sentence length and structure, and rework them to reduce repetition, improve fluency and increase impact.

Word choice and vocabulary

One thing people keep telling me they love about genAI is how it helps them write in a style that suits the intended audience, because you can bake that into your prompt. Unless you don't. Or you don't accurately assess them. One of those two things appears to have happened here. There were a few words in each section that were too technical the audience this company addresses. Now, that's fine if there's enough context to guide the reader to understanding, or if you explain the term in line. But neither of those things happened here.

Fix: Review technical terms and complex comments, replacing or explaining to keep readers engaged while they're learning new things.

Citations

I've edited a lot of papers for this company and have never once in the five years I've been doing it have I seen a textbook cited in their reports. It's just not how this firm does things. This report cited two textbooks in one section. OK, maybe that's the author's thing (they're new here). But they really stand out as the only two across the dozen pages. So I looked them up. One is a current textbook for a 101-level class in a related but different discipline. The second was worse: an outdated edition of a textbook about personal finance (not at all cogent to the topic of this paper, but having the same key words). I flagged both, pointing out the style break.

Fix: Verify that sources delivered by AI are appropriate for your audience, including reading reviews for books or other works.

I don't begrudge the author using AI to draft this report. You do you. But as I've said on here before and will keep saying, I am begging you to revise that draft. I've got a bunch of tried-and-true strategies for you on here. Want more detailed and personalized help? I got you. Sign up for one-time and recurring coaching or a group training session for a deeper dive that will make you a stronger writer in the bargain.

Related content

• Tune up your gen-AI content
• More revision tips!
• What I can do that AI can’t

The post I’m pretty sure you used AI to write that first appeared on The Word Factory.

I create a lot of explainers: from nature interpretation (vultures!) to technology (digital phenotyping!) and health (flu!). So I spend a lot of time studying what makes the best ones work, and have a large library of examples ranging from blogs and infographics to interpretive signage to long-form pieces.

I recently added this one from the New York Times on the weapons of war. It's a terrific, if somewhat terrifying, explainer published during the first days of the U.S.-Iran war on Iran.

Here are six traits that made me like it, content notwithstanding:

1. Voice & Tone: It sounds like a real person. Someone who knows their stuff and is more invested in us understanding than in their looking smart.
2. Ideas & Details: The piece includes only the most important ideas and relevant details so we get the really useful bits without feeling more overwhelmed than thinking about bombs and other ordnance already makes us.
3. Organization: The whole piece has a good flow and the repeated data categories for each entry creates a good logical framework. I also like the way author John Ismay starts with the weapon that was used first and then follows with others that were launched later.
4. Sentence Fluency: The short sentences suit the format and keep readers from getting fatigued.
5. Word Choice: Writing about complex weapons systems could be full of fancy jargon and argot (themselves somewhat fancy technical terms) that don't give us much information. But here, Ismay keeps it plain and clear so we stay engaged and build meaning.
6. Formatting: The layout is clean and the text is easy to read.

Related content

• Another anatomy of an explainer piece
• A breakdown of effective infographics
• A look at explainer video

The post How to make a good explainer first appeared on The Word Factory.

Budgets are tight, staff is stretched. Instead of making new content, reinvest in what you've already got. Here's why and how.

That's not just me talking. Well-respected, data-informed content experts like Norma Gaffin and Andy Crestodina agree. As Andy has said and written many times, "You don’t need 1000 articles. You need 100 great articles." That's why they (and I and other savvy content consultants) have been investing in content refreshing for years.

It is, without a doubt, the best way to improve the ROI of content you already have and avoid sinking resources into assets you don't really need. Why?

You have data showing which topics were performing best (and which have the added benefit of having already been indexed by search engines). Those are our first targets. You can also resurface topics that are important to the brand or upcoming campaigns that have stagnated or declined. And the updates give you an opportunity to repromote the assets on socials and in newsletters and other outreach.

“When you create a new piece of content, search engines need to index it and getting rankings is a long game. By having refreshed content as a part of your content strategy, you’re starting at a baseline rather than at zero. With less effort and cost, you can likely boost up. And it gives readers who discover your refreshed content more current information."

Norma Gaffin, director of content marketing and communication for payment platform Payroc

How to update existing content

Back in the day when The Word Factory was one of the content agencies for Staples and Phillips Lifeline, about half our work for those accounts was updating what they already had in the CMS. Working with the internal lead, I developed a standard set of upgrades to zhuzh up posts and pages. As content strategy has evolved, I've updated the list, which now includes:

• Increase quality by with a focus on concision, clarity, word choice (especially verbs), sentence fluency and voice
• Removing outdated or problematic references and language
• Revising text to reflect current messaging
• Updating research and data
• Interviewing new internal and external experts for quotes and insights, citing underrepresented voices whenever possible
• Enhancing or creating lists, tables and infographics
• Improving, replacing or adding images with an emphasis on inclusivity and diversity; and tending to alt text and descriptions
• Upgrading search terms, tags, meta descriptions, excerpts and contextual links to new internal and external sources
• Addressing broken links
• Producing new social posts

This work does take care and time, but it's a reinvestment in something you already know works. To me, that's a smart financial and human resources move.

Bonus: It's an easy project to outsource. I'm not just saying that because I do this work! Handing this off to a trusted vendor or contractor frees up your team to manage tasks that require more internal interactions, deeper institutional knowledge, higher stakes or immediate delivery. If that's not an option, consider working with a strategist like me who can help you create a plan for rolling upgrades based on head count and marketing/corporate plans.

Read more in my super-big deep-dive on how to get more from existing content, complete with mini case studies and examples from big brands and small businesses.

Related content

• Why you should refresh existing digital content
• Replatforming? Here’s how to organize your B2B content
• 12 ways to boost writing quality fast

The post You don’t need more content… first appeared on The Word Factory.

How to make AI content sound more human

One of the biggest complaints about gen-AI is that it doesn't sound quite right. It's like CGI fire in the movies. It can look very realistic, but there's just something about it that we know it's not. Probably because we've been looking at fire forever and it's burned (haha) into our cells. We haven't been reading as long, but we have been listening, and there's something about human speech/writing that we just know in our bones. That's why the first place to start tuning your AI content is with voice.

Your writing voice is influenced primarily by word choice and sentence fluency. (These are influenced by your ideas and audience.)

Focus on word choice

The terms you choose have certain connotations and importance to your audience and you know best what those are. AI doesn't — at least not yet. So it makes sense to spend some time honing vocab and usage. Choosing the right words — especially words you know you use a lot because the matter to your work or you like them — returns some humanity to the copy. More insights on how to choose the right words

4 quick tips for boosting word choice

1. Reduce state-of-being verbs
2. Insert visual verbs and reduce modal/auxilliary ones
3. Revise squinting modifiers
4. Use the active voice

Improve sentence fluency

Those words and the punctuation and grammar that go around them are what create the rhythm and flow of every phrase, sentence, paragraph and piece. GenAI often gets ahold of a pattern it likes and overuses it. It also sometimes has problems with the organization within a sentence, not quite delivering the information in the most logical way. Spending sometime playing around with sentence patterns and checking off the logical flow makes the copy stronger. Additional insights on flow

4 quick tips for better sentences

1. Vary sentence patterns to create voice and flow.
2. Streamline sentences to make them more readable (reading aloud helps!)
3. Combine shorter sentences when you need a smoother flow.
4. Split up longer sentences when they feel clunky or hard to understand (again, read it out loud.)

This is where to start. Once you've gotten the hang of revising for these traits, you can focus on other opportunities for improvement.

Want some help? I've got you covered with personal writing coaching or group training. Email me to discuss options!

Related Content

• Revision matters now more than ever
• Give and get better feedback

The post How to tune up your AI content first appeared on The Word Factory.

This time last year, I didn't think my personal preparedness kit would be the most-read post by more than a country mile, but 2025 turned out to be weirder and scarier than most of us thought. 2026's off to a wild start, too.

If you haven't checked out the toolkit, check it out. It's got checklists and ideas for helping yourself and your community when things get hairy (or hairier).

Here are the other most-populars. (Click titles to read the posts!) Thanks, as ever, for reading!

How to be an effective advocate

Nature interpretation package: Vultures are cool!

What I can do that AI can't

How to eulogize a dog

Road iD knows packaging is content, too

Interested in content strategy, writing and editing services or writing coaching/training?! I'm booking for Q2. Email me to explore opportunities.

The post Top posts of 2025 first appeared on The Word Factory.