People can often spot AI-written captions within a sentence. It’s the same overused words, the same rhythm, the same tidy three-part lists. The fix is not avoiding AI. It’s editing. Run every AI draft through this 10-point checklist.
1. Cut the AI giveaway words
Delete or replace words like “unlock”, “elevate”, “game-changer”, “dive in”, “journey”, “seamless”, “in today’s fast-paced world” and “look no further”. Add them to your brand brief’s banned list so they stop appearing.
2. Add one specific detail
Generic: “Our new menu is here and it’s delicious!” Human: “The brown butter gnocchi took us eleven tries. It’s on the menu Friday.” Specifics are the fastest way to sound real.
3. Use your own stories
AI cannot know what happened at your business this week. Add a real moment, customer, mistake or opinion.
4. Break the pattern of threes
AI loves lists of three adjectives and three-part sentences. Vary it: sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes a longer list.
5. Vary sentence length
Mix short sentences with longer ones. Like this. It gives writing a natural rhythm that sounds like speech.
6. Cut the throat-clearing
Delete openings like “Are you ready to…” or “Let’s talk about…”. Start with the point or the hook.
7. Use contractions and casual words
“We’re” instead of “we are”. “Grab” instead of “obtain”. Write how you’d say it to a customer at the counter.
8. Tone down the hype
Remove excess exclamation points, “amazing” and “incredible”. Let the details do the selling.
9. Check the emojis and hashtags
AI often over-decorates. Keep emojis only if they fit your brand, and use a handful of relevant hashtags rather than a wall.
10. Read it out loud
If you would not say it out loud to a customer, rewrite it. This one test catches most problems.
Prompts written to sound natural
Viral Hooks & Captions Prompts
Before and after
AI draft: “Elevate your self-care journey with our luxurious new facial! Experience the ultimate relaxation and unlock radiant, glowing skin. Book now!”
Edited: “Our new 60-minute facial ends with a cold jade roller and a cup of mint tea. Most clients fall asleep halfway through. Two openings left this Saturday, link in bio.”
Prevent the problem upstream
The best edit is a better prompt. Give the AI a detailed brand voice brief with examples of your real writing, and use specific prompts like our caption prompts. For the full workflow, see ChatGPT for social media.