# How to avoid the AI tells: a writer's checklist for 2026

> How to avoid the AI tells in your writing in 2026 is the remediation companion to the diagnostic. Nine canonical tells become nine active-avoidance practices, each with constructed before/after examples. Em-dash density, AI vocabulary cluster, symmetric two-clause hook, the not-just-X-but-Y frame, beige bullet middle, generic closing CTA, symmetric paragraph rhythm, voice-flat coherence, missing taboos. Plus the two-minute pre-publish scan.

URL: https://voicemoat.com/blog/avoid-ai-tells-writers-checklist-2026

## Key facts
- Published: 2026-05-13
- Category: AI and Voice
- Read time: 8 minutes
- Author: VoiceMoat team
- Publisher: VoiceMoat
- Topics: AI tells writer checklist; How to avoid AI tells in writing; Humanize AI content; Remove AI sound from writing; AI content remediation

## Related articles
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- The words AI overuses (and how to ban them from your writing forever): https://voicemoat.com/blog/words-ai-overuses
- Can your audience tell you're using AI? An honest 2026 analysis: https://voicemoat.com/blog/can-audience-tell-youre-using-ai
- How to write a viral Twitter thread in 2026 (without the same tired formulas): https://voicemoat.com/blog/viral-twitter-thread-2026
- The hybrid human-AI writing workflow that actually works in 2026: https://voicemoat.com/blog/hybrid-human-ai-writing-workflow-2026
- What is audenAI? The brain inside VoiceMoat: https://voicemoat.com/blog/what-is-auden
- The 10 signals of voice: what actually makes writing recognizable: https://voicemoat.com/blog/voice-dna-9-dimensions-canonical

## FAQ
Q: What is the strongest AI tell to avoid in your writing?
A: Em-dash density, meaning two or more em-dashes in a sub-100-word paragraph, is the strongest single AI tell in 2026 because general models over-produce the em-dash by default. The active-avoidance rule is zero em-dashes: replace with a period, a colon, a comma, or a parenthetical, choosing whichever matches the structural move the em-dash was standing in for.

Q: How do I avoid the AI vocabulary cluster?
A: Hard-ban the cluster and substitute simpler equivalents. Leverage as a verb becomes use, delve becomes examine or dig into, unlock becomes enable, navigate becomes handle, harness becomes use, foster becomes build, elevate becomes improve, embark becomes start, robust becomes strong, seamless becomes smooth, comprehensive becomes complete, and holistic becomes whole. Three or more cluster words in one post is the trigger.

Q: How do I use the AI tells checklist?
A: Run it in two passes. The read-before-drafting pass means skimming the nine sections once a quarter so the avoidance practices are loaded in working memory. The pre-publish scan is an abbreviated two-minute version run on every draft just before publishing. The two-minute scan catches roughly 80 percent of the tells, and the read-before-drafting pass shapes the draft to catch the rest.

Q: What should replace the symmetric two-clause hook?
A: Refuse the Most people think X, the reality is Y opener and its variants entirely, since general models converge on that pattern for engaging content. Replace it with a specific-observation opener, a named-context opener, a concrete confession, or a direct claim stated plainly. A hook built from a specific number, timeframe, or observation reads as voice, not template.

Source: https://voicemoat.com/blog/avoid-ai-tells-writers-checklist-2026
Site overview: https://voicemoat.com/llms.txt. AI usage policy: https://voicemoat.com/ai.txt.