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How to make AI text sound human

Why AI-written text reads as AI, the specific habits to cut, and how to rewrite a draft so it reads like a person wrote it, by hand or with Hemmingway.

By the Hemmingway team · · updated

Write yours now: Make it sound human

Text written by an AI has habits, and people have learnt to spot them. The fix is not to swap words for synonyms. It is to change the habits.

A note before we start: this page is about writing that reads well to the person getting it. It is not about fooling a detector for work you are meant to write yourself. If a school or employer asks for your own words, write your own words.

The habits that give it away

  • It explains itself. An intro saying what it is about to do, and a conclusion saying what it did.
  • Everything comes in threes. Three adjectives, three reasons, three bullet points, whatever the content needs.
  • Even rhythm. Every sentence about the same length, every paragraph about the same size.
  • Stock words. "Delve", "navigate", "tapestry", "crucial", "it's worth noting". None is wrong. Together they are a signature.
  • Hedging everywhere. "It may be helpful to consider." A person says what they think.
  • No specifics. General statements where a person would give the actual date, name or number.
  • Too polite for the reader. A reply to a friend that reads like it is going to a customer.

How to rewrite it

  1. Cut the first and last paragraph and see if you miss them. You usually do not.
  2. Say the actual thing. Replace each general line with the specific fact behind it.
  3. Break the rhythm. Let a sentence be four words long. Join two others.
  4. Drop the stock words. Use the plain word you would say out loud.
  5. Match the reader. Write the length and tone you would use with this person.
  6. Read it aloud. Anything you would not say, change.

Doing it with Hemmingway

Hemmingway is a model trained to write like a person in the first place, so the draft starts closer. Paste in the stiff version and say "make this sound like me", and give it anything it should know about who it is for. It rewrites it once, gives you only the text, and keeps the facts you gave it without adding new ones.

Its favourite job, in its own words, is taking a rough note and making it sound like you. In our blind tests, a judge asked "which of these did a person write?" picked Hemmingway-1's version more often than any other model's, including Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra. The numbers are here.

Or test your eye

Spot the AI gives you two texts, one by a person and one by Hemmingway. See if you can tell.

Try HemmingwayDownload the app

Common questions

How do I make ChatGPT text sound more human?

Cut the opening and closing paragraphs, replace general lines with the specific facts behind them, and vary the sentence length. Drop the stock words, match the length and tone to the reader, and read it aloud, changing anything you would not say.

What words make text sound like AI wrote it?

Words like "delve", "navigate", "tapestry", "crucial" and "it's worth noting". None is wrong on its own, but together they are a signature. Hedging such as "it may be helpful to consider" gives it away too.

Can I use this to get past an AI detector?

That is not what this guide is for. It is about writing that reads well to the person getting it. If a school or employer asks for your own words, write your own words.

Is there an AI that writes like a human from the start?

Hemmingway-1 was trained to write like a person, so the draft starts closer. In our blind Human-Likeness test, a judge asked which of two texts a person wrote picked its version more often than any other model's. Human-Likeness is our own benchmark.

Read next

  • An AI that sounds humanMost AI writing gives itself away in a line. Here is what makes text read as a person's, and how Hemmingway-1 was built and tested to sound like one.
  • How to make AI write like youPractical ways to get an AI to write in your own voice: what to give it, what to ask for, what to cut, and when a model built for it saves the effort.
  • Hemmingway vs Hemingway EditorHemmingway (two m's) is an AI that writes for you. Hemingway Editor (one m) highlights hard-to-read sentences in what you wrote. Here is which is which.
  • Hemmingway vs GrammarlyGrammarly checks and polishes what you write. Hemmingway writes it for you, in your voice, and can draft replies from your inbox. How they differ and when to use each.