Editing AI-written texts: the checklist we use

Generating a draft with AI takes two minutes; the problem is what happens next, when the draft looks ready and the temptation to publish it as-is wins over caution. Editing AI-written texts with a fixed method is what separates a credible blog from one readers recognize as synthetic by the third line. This is the editing checklist we use on the content that passes through our studio, in four ordered steps.

Why an AI draft can't be published as-is

A language model produces fluent, well-organized text, and that very fluency is deceptive: correct form hides problems of substance. The typical flaws of a generated draft are recurring and predictable:

• factual claims that are plausible but unverified, sometimes invented outright;
• genericness: sentences that could sit in any article in any industry;
• a uniform tone that sounds like no one, and therefore not like you either;
• recognizable stylistic tics, which readers have by now learned to sniff out.

The good news is that the flaws are systematic, so they can be fixed with a systematic process. Serious editing time for a medium-length article is comparable to that of a thorough human revision: AI saves you time on drafting, not on checking.

First step: accuracy and fact-checking

Start with the facts, because a published factual error costs more than any ugly sentence. In practice:

1. Highlight every verifiable claim: numbers, dates, names, software versions, references to regulations, quotations.
2. Verify each one against a primary source. If the source can't be found in reasonable time, the claim gets cut or rewritten in general terms. An article with one less data point stays solid; with one false data point it doesn't.
3. Distrust quotations. Models tend to reconstruct sentences attributed to people or documents: check them against the original, word for word, or remove them.
4. Check freshness. The model may describe an outdated scenario as current: prices, product features and regulatory requirements must be compared against today.

A habit we recommend to teams: whoever reviews notes the source consulted next to each data point. It helps the next check and creates accountability.

Second step: tone and brand voice

Once the facts pass, the text has to sound like you. The guiding questions:

• Would you say it like that out loud to a client? Sentences you'd never utter in a meeting should be rewritten the way you would utter them.
• Is your experience in there? The generated draft contains advice that's correct but anonymous. You add the value: a case seen in the field, a mistake you made, a reasoned preference. If a paragraph could have been written by anyone, enrich it or shorten it.
• Is the terminology yours? Every industry and every company has its own words: the model uses the web's average ones. Align the terms with how you talk to clients.

This is the step where the text stops being a draft and becomes content: in our experience it's also the one that most affects whether a reader makes it to the end.

Third step: cutting the AI tics

There are constructs that generated drafts keep reproducing and that by now function as a signature. The hit list we use:

• grandiose openings about a changing world and transformative eras: cut them and start from the reader's concrete problem;
• empty intensifiers and decorative adverbs that inflate the sentence without adding information;
• paired contrasts used as a refrain to say what a product is not, instead of saying what it is;
• strings of three adjectives in a row, where one well-chosen adjective would do;
• paragraphs all the same length and sentences with identical rhythm: human writing breathes irregularly, and the revision must restore that breathing;
• summarizing conclusions that repeat the article just read: better to close with a practical next step.

The step's final test: read the text aloud. Wherever you stumble or get bored, there's a cut to make.

Last step: SEO and structure

With the text cleaned up, the technical check before publishing: the main topic must appear in the title, in the first lines and in at least one subheading, naturally; subheadings must be informative even read on their own, because many readers skim; internal links to relevant pages of your site go where they help the reader, with descriptive anchor text; meta title and description are written by hand, thinking about what earns the click in the SERP. One last thing: reread on a phone. Most readers will see the text there, and walls of text that go unnoticed on desktop are off-putting on mobile.

Need a content workflow that holds up?

We build websites and eCommerce and for many clients we also handle the editorial side: blogs, service pages and product pages, with AI used where it speeds things up and human review where quality is decided. If your site needs content that ranks and gets read, book a free call: we'll look at what you publish today and propose a sustainable workflow.