By Phil Gee · AI Academy, Southport
Have you noticed how many posts, emails and websites are starting to read the same?
"In today's fast-paced world..." "Unlock the power of..." "Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out..."
You know the type. Nobody wrote it, because nobody would ever say it out loud. It's AI on autopilot, and your customers are getting very good at spotting it.
I use AI every single day, and I train business owners to use it. So let me be clear: the problem isn't AI. The problem is how most people use it.
Why it matters
People don't buy from a business because the grammar is perfect. They buy because they trust the person behind it. In a small local business, you are the brand. Your way of talking, your sense of humour, the way you explain things, that's what makes someone pick you over the competition.
When everyone can produce polished content in ten seconds, polish stops being special. Personality is what's left.
The giveaways
Here are the signs that content was written by AI and posted without a second thought:
- Everything is "exciting", "innovative" or a "game-changer"
- Sentences all roughly the same length and rhythm
- Lots of lists of three
- Big claims with no real examples
- Nothing in it that only you could have written
If your content could belong to any business in your industry, it belongs to none of them.
How to make AI sound like you
The good news is that you can have the speed of AI and your own voice. Here's how:
- Tell it who you are. Describe your business, your customers and how you speak. Do it once in your settings or project so you don't start from scratch every time.
- Give it examples. Paste in a few things you've written that you're proud of and say, "write like this."
- Let it interview you. Ask the AI to question you first, then write from your answers. Your real stories and opinions go in, so they come out.
- Say what you never say. Ban the phrases you'd never use. If you wouldn't say "unlock your potential" to a customer, tell it so.
- Edit out loud. Read the result aloud. Anywhere you stumble or cringe, rewrite it the way you'd actually say it.
- Add something only you know. A customer story, a local detail, an opinion. That one line is worth more than the other five paragraphs.
Use AI as the first draft, not the final word
The best way to think about it is this: AI does the heavy lifting, you add the heart. It gets you past the blank page and takes care of the structure. Then you step in, cut the fluff, and make it sound like a real human with a pulse.
Do that, and you'll get your time back and keep the thing that makes people choose you.
Want to build your own voice into your AI tools so it sounds like you from the first draft? Book a free chat with me and I'll show you how.