Let me guess what happened…
You fired up ChatGPT (or Claude, or whatever AI tool you’re using). You typed in a detailed prompt. You got back what looked like a pretty solid piece of content.
Then you published it.
And… crickets.
Nobody clicked. Nobody engaged. It got almost 0 organic traffic.
You’re not alone.
I’ve tested this dozens of times with my own content. AI is INCREDIBLE at giving you a starting point. But if you publish that first draft without editing? You’re leaving money on the table.
Why?
Because AI content, by itself, reads like everyone else’s AI content. It’s safe. It’s generic. It lacks the punch that makes people stop scrolling and actually pay attention.
But here’s the good news…
You don’t need to throw away your AI-generated content. You just need to know how to rescue it.
Today, I’m going to show you 5 specific copy tweaks that transform bland AI content into conversion-driving copy. These are the exact edits I make to every piece of AI content before it goes live.
Let’s dive in…
Why AI Content Often Reads Like “Template Copy”
Before we get to the fixes, you need to understand WHY AI content falls flat in the first place.
AI Tends Toward Patterns, Not Personality
Here’s the reality of how AI works…
These tools are trained to predict the most statistically common next words. That means they naturally lean toward safe, generic phrasing that sounds… well, like everyone else.
In fact, research from Brafton found that 71% of respondents said their biggest complaint about AI content is that it feels generic or bland.
Think about it.
When you ask AI to write about “email marketing tips,” it’s going to give you the same basic advice in roughly the same way it’s seen that topic covered hundreds of times in its training data.
A study from UCLA Anderson and Northwestern found that AI content shows clear signs of homogenization. Everything starts to sound the same because the models are trained on existing content patterns.
Missing Emotional Anchors and Unique Voice
Here’s what AI can’t do (at least not without a LOT of prompting)…
It doesn’t naturally inject:
- Personal stories
- Sensory details
- Voice-based quirks that make YOU sound like YOU
- The psychological nuance that actually drives conversions
As one marketer put it perfectly: “AI copy lacks the psychological nuance that drives conversions.”
And they’re right.
AI can tell someone WHAT to do. But it struggles to make them FEEL something. And people buy based on emotions, not logic.
Hallucinations, Errors, or Overcautious Phrasing
You’ve probably noticed this…
AI loves to hedge its bets with words like “might,” “could,” “some,” and “potentially.” It does this to avoid being wrong.
The problem?
That kind of language destroys your authority.
Compare these two sentences:
AI version: “This strategy might help you improve your conversion rates.”
Human version: “This strategy doubled my conversion rates in 30 days.”
Which one makes you want to keep reading?
Plus, there’s the whole issue of AI hallucinations — where the tool confidently makes up facts that sound plausible but are completely wrong. MIT Sloan has written extensively about how these biases and hallucinations stem from training data and model design decisions.
The Goal: Make AI Content Sound More Human, More Persuasive
Here’s how I think about it…
AI gives you rough clay. Your job is to mold it into something worth reading.
You’re not the writer anymore — you’re the editor. And your role is to add:
- Voice
- Emotion
- Specificity
- Friction (yes, friction!)
- Authority
The goal isn’t to make your content sound like everyone else’s. It’s to make it sound like YOU.
5 Copy Tweaks to Rescue Your AI Content
Alright, here are the five specific tweaks I use on virtually every piece of AI content I publish. Use these, and your content will immediately stand out.
Tweak #1: Add a Surprising Detail or Tiny Story
What to Change: Inject a brief anecdote, counterintuitive fact, or contrast.
Why It Works: Real stories break the monotony of generic content and anchor trust. When you share something specific that happened to YOU, readers know you’re not just regurgitating generic advice.
Example:
❌ Before (Generic AI): “Email marketing can be very effective for your business.”
✅ After (With Story): “I logged into my dashboard at 3 a.m. and saw my first $500 sale from an email I’d sent the night before. Here’s what I changed that made it happen.”
See the difference?
The second version makes you lean in. You want to know what changed. The first version? You’ve heard it a million times before.
Tweak #2: Use Emotional or Sensory Language
What to Change: Swap bland adjectives (“good,” “nice,” “effective”) for vivid ones that create mental images.
Why It Works: Vivid words pull readers in. Generic words let their eyes glaze over and skim right past your point.
Example:
❌ Before: “This strategy produced great results for our client.”
✅ After: “This strategy delivered a jaw-dropping 2x conversion lift that had our client calling us at 9 PM on a Saturday.”
Words like “jaw-dropping” and the specific detail about the Saturday night call paint a picture. “Great results” does nothing.
Here’s a quick list of words to replace:
- Good → Remarkable, exceptional, game-changing
- Bad → Catastrophic, devastating, brutal
- Big → Massive, overwhelming, staggering
- Small → Razor-thin, microscopic, barely-there
Tweak #3: Insert Micro-Objections + Answers
What to Change: Anticipate what a reader might doubt or hesitate over, and address it in a parenthesis or short sentence.
Why It Works: This builds confidence and empathy. You’re showing that you understand their concerns and have thought through the obstacles.
Example:
❌ Before: “This tool will help you automate your email marketing.”
✅ After: “This tool will help you automate your email marketing. (You might think this sounds too technical — I promise I’ll break it down step by step.)”
By acknowledging the objection, you’ve just kept someone reading who was about to bounce.
Some common objections to address:
- “This sounds expensive”
- “I don’t have time for this”
- “I’m not technical enough”
- “This won’t work in my niche”
- “I’ve tried this before and it didn’t work”
Tweak #4: Ask a Question That Forces Reflection
What to Change: Break the narrative with a rhetorical or direct question.
Why It Works: Questions re-engage the reader and make them mentally participate. When someone reads a question, their brain instinctively tries to answer it.
Example:
Instead of just stating facts, try this:
“Most people send emails that get ignored. But here’s what I want you to think about — how would your next launch feel if your emails actually got replies? If people forwarded them to friends? If they created genuine excitement instead of instant deletes?”
Questions like these make your reader stop and visualize. That’s powerful.
Some question formulas that work:
- “What if…?”
- “How would it feel if…?”
- “Have you ever wondered why…?”
- “What’s stopping you from…?”
Tweak #5: Add Contrast or Tension in the Copy
What to Change: Show “Before vs After,” or “What most people do wrong vs what you should do.”
Why It Works: Contrast creates clarity and urgency. It makes your point crystal clear by showing what NOT to do alongside what TO do.
Example:
❌ Before: “Write personalized emails to your subscribers.”
✅ After: “Most marketers write bland, corporate-sounding emails that feel like they came from a robot. You’re going to write emails that feel like messages from a friend who’s genuinely excited to share something with you.”
The contrast makes the advice memorable AND actionable.
Try these contrast frameworks:
- Most people do X. You’ll do Y.
- Before: [Pain]. After: [Result].
- The wrong way: [Common mistake]. The right way: [Your method].
Bonus Tweaks (If You Want to Go Further)
Here are a few more advanced tweaks I use when I really want to polish a piece:
Vary Your Sentence Length
Mix short, punchy lines with longer, flowing sentences. This creates rhythm and keeps readers engaged.
Like this.
See? That short sentence grabs attention. Then you can expand on your point with a longer sentence that provides more detail and context before hitting them with another quick one.
Use Analogies or Metaphors
Complex ideas become instantly clear when you compare them to something familiar.
Instead of: “Email segmentation improves targeting efficiency.”
Try: “Email segmentation is like sorting your contacts at a party. You wouldn’t talk to your boss the same way you talk to your college roommate, right? Same principle applies to your email list.”
Experiment With Voice
First-person (“I discovered”) creates intimacy and authority.
Second-person (“You’ll find that…”) creates direct connection.
Test which one works better for your content and audience.
How to Use These Tweaks in Practice
Here’s your simple workflow:
Step 1: Generate your content with AI (like you normally would).
Step 2: Pick ONE piece to edit — don’t try to fix everything at once.
Step 3: Apply 1-2 of these tweaks first. Start with adding a story and using emotional language.
Step 4: Read it out loud. If you stumble over any sentences or they sound robotic, rewrite them.
Step 5: (Optional) Test it. Compare engagement metrics, click-through rates, or replies to your previous content.
Over time, you’ll internalize these tweaks. Eventually, you’ll start prompting AI to include them from the start, and your first drafts will be exponentially better.
Pitfalls to Avoid (When Humanizing AI Content)
Before you go crazy editing, watch out for these common mistakes:
Don’t Overwrite Until the AI’s Voice Is Completely Gone
Remember — AI gave you structure and organization. Don’t throw out those benefits by rewriting everything from scratch.
Avoid Inconsistencies of Tone
If you’re writing in a casual, conversational style, don’t suddenly get formal in paragraph seven. Keep your voice consistent throughout.
Don’t Overpromise or Mislead
When you’re adding emotional language and stories, it’s easy to accidentally oversell. Stay honest about what your product or advice can deliver.
Always Fact-Check and Validate
AI hallucinations are real. Before publishing, verify any statistics, claims, or “facts” the AI included. If you can’t verify it, cut it.
And remember — AI detectors are notoriously unreliable, so don’t worry too much about “passing” them. Focus on making your content GOOD, not on gaming detection tools.
Final Thoughts
Here’s the bottom line…
AI is an incredible tool that saves you hours of work. It gives you a solid starting point, a structure, and eliminates the blank page problem.
But the final 20% — the edits that turn “okay” content into content that CONVERTS — that’s where you come in.
The stories. The emotion. The voice. The objection handling.
That’s what separates content that gets skimmed from content that gets read, shared, and acted on.
So here’s what I want you to do…
Pick one piece of AI content you published recently (or are about to publish). Apply just ONE of these tweaks — maybe add a quick story or inject some emotional language.
Then watch what happens.
I bet you’ll see the difference immediately. And once you do, you’ll never publish raw AI content again.
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