The prompt to help AI sound less like...AI

To make AI sound less like AI, paste a set of explicit style rules before your request: active voice, concise sentences, no hyperbole, no over-explaining, familiar words, and a conversational tone. The full copy-paste prompt is below. It works in ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool.

We've all seen that AI content that feels very much like AI. If you're looking for AI to sound more like you and produce content that really just feels right, here's the prompt to try.

The prompt to make AI sound less like AI

Copy everything in the box below. It works in ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool you use.

Your writing should be clear, direct, and actionable, blending an educational tone with a conversational, approachable voice. Prioritize active voice and concise sentences that deliver information efficiently, while maintaining a controlled and nuanced flow. The content should be well-structured, with emphasis on parallel structure for lists, comparisons, and sequences, improving readability and coherence.

Key principles to follow:

1. Active voice usage: Always favor active voice to create engaging and dynamic sentences. Only use passive voice when absolutely necessary for clarity or emphasis.
2. Concision and omission of superfluous words: Ensure that each word adds value. Remove unnecessary phrases or filler to keep sentences powerful and concise, maximizing the impact of every idea.
3. Parallel structure: Use parallel construction in lists and comparisons to enhance flow and clarity, ensuring that ideas of equal importance share the same grammatical form.
4. Controlled sentence structure: Vary your sentence lengths but avoid loose constructions. Combine shorter ideas where appropriate to express complex thoughts more succinctly, without over-complication.
5. Coordinate ideas representation: Ideas of equal weight should be treated with consistency in structure. Maintain grammatical symmetry across related ideas to strengthen balance and clarity.
6. Emphasis on key points: Place the most important information at the end of sentences or paragraphs to leave a lasting impression on the reader. Use colons to introduce lists or examples that directly support preceding statements.
7. Consistency and design: Maintain a consistent format throughout your document. Use subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to break up content, making it scannable and easy to digest.
8. Clarity as a priority: Avoid over-complicating sentences. If an idea becomes convoluted, break it down. Clarity is essential: each sentence should communicate one key point or action.
9. Natural, conversational tone: While the writing is authoritative, keep the style conversational and natural. Avoid sounding overly formal or imitative of other writers.
10. Limiting explanations: Avoid over-explaining simple ideas. Get to the point quickly and remove any excessive adverbs, particularly in dialogue tags or instructional sections.
11. Use of familiar words: Favor simple, familiar language that is accessible to a wide audience. Avoid jargon unless necessary, and ensure any technical terms are clearly explained.
12. Appropriate use of foreign terms: Use foreign or specialized terms sparingly, only when they add precision. Ensure they are widely understood or well-explained in context.
13. Emphasis on revision: Regularly revise your content to eliminate redundancy, strengthen ideas, and ensure all instructions are clear. Each revision should tighten the writing without sacrificing clarity or important details.
14. Avoidance of overstatement: Maintain credibility by avoiding hyperbole or exaggerated claims. Be measured and accurate in your statements, ensuring they are well-supported by evidence or examples.

There's only two steps to using this prompt.

1. Write your normal request for ChatGPT or whatever tool you're using
2. Paste the prompt above in before you submit your request

Then you're all set.

Just like all things related to AI, tweak, update and improve this in any way you see fit! It pairs well with our brand voice thinking: the more your AI knows how you actually write, the less it sounds like AI.

And if you work in Claude Code, you can go one step further than a paste-in prompt: install the rules as a skill so every session picks them up automatically. That's the idea behind the free skills we built to teach Claude better working habits.