There are lots of ways to make AI text more human-friendly, but if the primary goal is to rank high on Google then all you need to do is make the content SEO-friendly.
Search engines are on a mission to rid the SERPs of web pages which are deemed spammy, and this means AI-generated content is right in the firing line.
To prevent your website from being tagged as spammy AI, check your text for any of the following “ChatGPTisms”—it’s really that simple, and it will position you well for those top spots in the search results.
Reword any frequently used ChatGPT words
Generally speaking, humans don’t use the same words and phrases in each and every piece of writing they produce. But AI chatbots like ChatGPT sure do!
More to the point, search engines are able to connect the dots when all the low-quality, spammy sites they’ve been downgrading contain the same kinds of words and phrases, making Google’s life very easy in terms of detecting generative AI text before it’s even been indexed.
We’re referring to the phenomenon of common ChatGPT words and phrases, and they are huge red flags in Google’s eyes, which means your SEO performance will flatline if you leave them in your content.
Let’s start with individual words. These are not as problematic as phrases, but can still pose a threat to SEO if you have too many of them in the same piece of text.
Adjectives
“Comprehensive” is among the most common ChatGPT adjectives, as the chatbot can’t help but show off its encyclopedic knowledge on any given subject by saying things like “comprehensive analysis” or “comprehensive overview”.
Verbs
Although they are tricky to replace, try to avoid overused ChatGPT verbs such as explore, navigate and reshape. The one to be on high alert for is elevate because our research shows that this word often appears in headings and titles in addition to the main body.
Adverbs
Along with its corresponding adjective which we mentioned earlier, “comprehensively” is very ubiquitous in ChatGPT-generated articles and is definitely in the mix as one of the most common ChatGPT adverbs.
Nouns
Landscapes, worlds, realms, domains—this chatbot is obsessed with using all-encompassing labels when introducing a topic, perhaps to make the content appeal to a wider range of readers. There’s a few more common ChatGPT nouns you ought to keep a tight reign on.
Rephrase any frequently used ChatGPT phrases
While the presence of common ChatGPT words in ChatGPT-generated articles is not ideal and should be monitored closely, it’s not as detrimental as the presence of common phrases.
Why? Because phrases consist of sequences of words, which means the likes of Google can easily detect patterns, make correlations, and determine with confidence whether a site is churning out AI text or not.
Familiarize yourself with ChatGPT’s favorite phrases so that you are ready to humanize them as and when they appear. Removing these ‘identifiers’ for AI generated text will help protect your site’s SEO performance.
Introductory phrases
ChatGPT is overly formal in its approach to writing article introductions. In a similar vein to essay writing, the chatbot will state its intentions with phrases like “In this article, we will explore…” and “This article will delve into…”—such phrases are completely unnecessary in article writing.
Metaphorical phrases
The chatbot’s use of expressions and figures of speech can be refreshing at times, but it’s not as expansive as it could be. Brace yourself for common ChatGPT metaphors involving tapestry e.g. “Naples is a rich tapestry of history, culture and natural beauty”.
Concluding phrases
Avoid using robotic transition phrases such as “In conclusion”, “In summary or “In summation” in the last section of your ChatGPT-generated articles. We’ve written a top 15 list of the most common ChatGPT phrases if you want to learn more about the biggest AI red flags.
Retitle any frequently used ChatGPT titles
Titles carry significant SEO weight, so it’s really important to give your AI-generated articles accurate and humanized titles or risk having your entire website tagged as spam.
“Accurate” being the operative word here, because ChatGPT has a tendency to make big promises about the quality of its content, only to under-deliver, especially when it comes to writing articles in the form of a guide.
Ultimate guides
The commonest ChatGPT title by far is ultimate guide e.g. “The Ultimate Guide to SEO”. You should also be wary of variations such as “complete guide” and “comprehensive guide”.
Where does accuracy come into this? ChatGPT barely surpasses 500 words in maximum output, which gives rise to a disconnect between the promise of an “ultimate” guide and the actual length of the content.
Why does it matter for SEO? Google hates web pages that mislead users and rightly so. If your articles are on the shorter side then title them in a way that reflects this e.g. “A Quick Guide to SEO”.
Summary
The most effective way to humanize ChatGPT-generated text for SEO is by targeting and rooting out the words and phrases that are strongly associated with ChatGPT.
Words like “delve”, “elevate” and “comprehensive” could be problematic if there’s too many of them, but the bigger concern with regard to AI detection is the chatbot’s signature phrases like “in this article” and “X is a tapestry of Y and Z”.
And don’t forget to humanize your titles as well—don’t make the very common mistake of allowing ChatGPT to insert ambitious adjectives like “ultimate” or “complete” in the title of your AI-generated guides unless the text lives up to this description.