How to Humanize AI Content
Whether you’re brainstorming ideas about your next social media post, writing product descriptions for your online store, or looking for a quick way to summarize a long report, you’ve likely turned to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or DeepSeek.
These tools are great for saving time and effort, but their outputs can sometimes feel overly stiff and impersonal. To make the most of these tools and produce truly engaging content, it’s essential to know how to refine AI-generated text, which you can do manually or with the help of an AI humanizer.
What is AI content?
AI-generated content describes texts, images, video, or audio created by artificial intelligence. It’s a type of computer-generated content that can mimic human writing and thinking. Tools like ChatGPT have been trained on large datasets containing thousands of examples to understand how humans write and create.
When it comes to texts, for instance, they learn grammar, tone, word choice, and context to understand how humans communicate in different situations. By giving them specific instructions or prompts, such as asking for ideas for a blog post, they pull together information from what they’ve learned to produce the right content.
Why humanize AI content?
AI content comes with its limitations. One major drawback is that, unlike a human writer, an AI tool can’t really develop new ideas; its “creativity” is limited by the boundaries of its training. An AI output is more like a summary of what has already been said on a topic; it doesn’t really add anything new to the conversation, nor is it tailored to your audience. And this is where your editing skills can shine through.
Some other issues with AI content:
- Readers recognize AI content by now. Awkward phrasing and repetitive patterns are tell-tale signs of AI-generated content, and this may put your readers off. Also, your customers or business partners won’t be too excited when they realize you’ve just copied and pasted a generic AI text, as this can feel rather impersonal.
- Hallucinations. Despite their high level of accuracy, ChatGPT and the like can start hallucinating and make up facts and statistics.
- Lack of empathy. AI-generated content often lacks emotion, which is important in writing. If your content sounds like it was written by a computer, customers are going to tune out. And that means they’re less likely to connect with your brand or make a purchase.
- New information is not part of the training data. For example, the training data for ChatGPT includes information available up until October 2023. This means that any information after their training cut-off date is inaccessible to them.
- Generic content. Although search engines like Google don’t necessarily penalize AI-generated content, they do favor content that is valuable and helpful. This means it will take more than simply using AI texts for your blog to boost your rankings.
8 tips for humanizing AI content
Using the following tips, you can learn how to edit and fine-tune AI-generated content to sound more authentic and engage your audience.
1. Use active voice
AI tools favor the passive voice and you need to fix this. Passive voice creates unnecessarily complex sentences, making readers work harder to understand your message. We naturally speak in active voice in conversations, so why complicate things when we write? In professional writing, active voice isn’t just clearer, it’s more engaging.
Active voice helps you take ownership, sound confident, and connect with your audience. For example, “The new feature was designed to improve user experience” sounds corporate and distant, whereas “We designed the new feature to improve user experience,” sounds like something a real person would say.
“A new marketing strategy was implemented to improve customer engagement.”
Humanized by reformulating into active voice:
“We implemented a new marketing strategy to improve customer engagement.”
2. Vary sentence length
ChatGPT really doesn’t like using simple sentences. To get your message across and sound more natural, it’s best to mix short and long sentences. Sometimes you need to unpack an idea with a longer sentence, and sometimes you just want to make a quick point. Good writing moves between these modes, keeping things interesting.
The trick is to sound like a person, not a computer. Blend longer explanations with sharp, quick statements. It’s about finding a rhythm that feels natural and keeps people reading.
The platform provides various tools that help users create content while improving productivity and efficiency.
Humanized by breaking a long sentence in two:
The platform comes with a range of tools to help users create content. Some speed up the process, while others make organizing ideas easier.
3. Use a conversational tone
To make AI-generated content feel more natural, try writing the way you speak. Use contractions like “isn’t,” “you’re,” and “there’s” to keep things casual. Ask questions to engage your audience, and use the second-person perspective (“you”) to make readers feel directly involved. A conversational tone helps your writing feel more personal and lets readers connect with it more easily.
“Utilizing data-driven insights can improve decision-making and optimize business strategies.”
Humanized by tweaking the tone of voice:
When you use data-driven insights, you can make smarter decisions and fine-tune your business strategy.
4. Add original research
It’s not just the language you need to iron out in AI-generated content. If you want to rank on Google and other search engines, you need to add valuable information to your content.
Look for the latest statistics, research-backed data, and what experts in your industry have to say. Keep in mind that AI tools can only work with the data they’ve been trained on, so it’s always smart to verify the information they provide, or better yet, do some digging yourself to add fresh facts and figures.
“Studies show that email marketing remains an effective tool for customer retention.”
Humanized by adding the latest data you’ve found:
“According to a 2024 HubSpot report, email marketing generates an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective retention strategies.”
5. Add your unique perspective
AI doesn’t have personal experiences, but you do. Your insights, stories, and professional knowledge are what make your writing stand out. Adding a personal touch, by sharing, for instance, an anecdote about a challenging client project or a moment of professional breakthrough, helps you build authority and makes your text sound more relatable.
For example, instead of just explaining a marketing strategy, you might start with: “When I was working with a startup struggling to find its voice, I realized that …” This approach transforms generic advice into a narrative that draws readers in and shows your first-hand experience.
“Networking is important for career growth. Attending industry events can be beneficial.”
Humanized by adding your perspective:
“Early in my career, I hesitated to attend networking events. But after one conversation led to my first big job opportunity, I realized just how powerful these connections can be.”
6. Tailor your prompts
The more precise your instructions, the better the output you get. Think of it like giving directions—you need to be clear and specific. Chances are, you are writing with an audience in mind, so the best way to go about it is to tell the AI who they are: their age, profession, interests, or anything else that can help you flesh out their personality.
| “Write a blog post about productivity tips.” | “Write a 500-word blog post on productivity tips for remote workers, using a friendly and engaging tone. Include time-blocking techniques and strategies for reducing distractions.” |
Specifying the context, tone of voice, word count, or keywords you want to include will help you transform generic AI content into a focused piece that resonates with your target readers.
7. Use AI for ideation
Instead of thinking of AI as the writer, try seeing it as your brainstorming partner. Whether you’re naming a product or coming up with a blog headline, AI can generate different variations to get the ideas flowing. It can suggest unexpected connections and fresh angles that help you get past creative roadblocks.
But while AI is great for sparking ideas, its suggestions aren’t finished products. You still need to sift through different options and trust your own judgment, creativity, and intuition to find what works best. Iterate and refine until the final result feels authentic and resonates with your audience.
| When asked to name a new productivity app, the AI suggests:
“ProductivityPlus” “TaskFlow” “FocusMaster Pro” I select “TaskFlow” and use it without further refinement. |
Using the AI tools’ suggestions as a springboard, I thought that “TaskFlow” had potential but felt mechanical. It made me think about how productivity isn’t just about managing tasks but about supporting natural work rhythms. I came up with “FlowState” with the tagline: “Work with your natural rhythm, not against it.” |
8. Use a humanizer tool
Humanizer tools can help smooth out AI-generated text, making it sound more natural and less mechanical. They refine tone, adjust phrasing, and improve readability while keeping the original meaning intact. Quillbot’s free AI Humanizer, for example, can quickly rework content from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, reducing the need for manual edits. Using a humanizer can be a useful step in polishing AI-assisted writing.
“Optimal time management necessitates the prioritization of high-value activities and the elimination of productivity impediments to maximize efficiency.”
After using a humanizer tool:
“Good time management means focusing on what matters and cutting out the things that slow you down.”
Frequently asked questions about how to humanize AI content
- What is AI-generated content?
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AI-generated content refers to any type of content, such as video, text, images, or audio, that is created using AI tools. By analyzing vast amounts of data they’ve been trained on, these tools can produce new content that mimics human-created work.
When it comes to writing, AI can quickly generate articles, summaries, and marketing copy, but the result often feels generic or impersonal. That’s why knowing how to humanize AI content is important; it helps you connect with your audience and create material that resonates on an emotional level rather than just conveying information. Tools like QuillBot’s free Humanizer can help you humanize your texts.
- What is an AI content writer?
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An AI content writer can refer to:
- An AI-powered tool (like ChatGPT or Claude) that can create various types of written material, like blog posts, social media content, and marketing copy.
- A human writer who specializes in using AI tools as part of their writing process.
In both cases, knowing how to humanize AI content is really important. Without thoughtful editing, AI-generated text can feel flat and impersonal, making it harder to engage your audience. You can use tools like QuillBot’s free Humanizer to help you with this process.
