Make AI Writing Sound Natural: Prompts + Edits That Remove the “AI Voice”

I like AI writing tools, which can produce more natural-sounding output with the right approach. I use them a lot, especially since they are beneficial for non-native English writers, helping to bridge the language gap. However, I still cringe sometimes when I read the output.

Not because it is “bad” exactly. More because it has that vibe. The AI voice.

You know it when you see it.

It sounds polished but empty. Confident but weirdly non committal. Like a person smiling too hard while saying nothing. Lots of “In today’s fast paced world” energy. Lots of tidy paragraphs that don’t quite breathe.

The good news is you can fix this and write with AI without sounding like everyone else. You do not need to become some prompt engineer wizard who speaks in YAML.

What you need is a simple two part system:

1. Prompts that force specificity and human rhythm.
2. A quick editing pass that removes the tells.

I’m going to give you both. Copy and paste prompts. Plus the edits I actually do, the ones that make it stop sounding like a demo.

Also, if you want to follow along inside a tool that’s built for this kind of workflow, WritingTools.ai has a solid setup. It’s basically a big toolbox with templates, long form features, rewriting, and editing all in one place. Their main AI Writing Assistant is the easiest place to run these prompts and iterate quickly.

What “AI voice” actually is (so you can delete it on purpose)

AI voice is not one thing. It is a stack of small habits that add up.

Here are the most common ones I see:

• Generic positioning. The writing starts with a broad claim instead of a real point.
  “AI is transforming the way we communicate…”
• Over explained structure. It tells you what it will do, then does it, then tells you it did it.
  “In this article, we will explore…”
• No real preferences. Human writers have opinions, quirks, tiny biases. AI tends to hedge.
  “It depends” “There are many factors” “It can be beneficial”
• Overuse of safe adjectives. Seamless. Robust. Comprehensive. Innovative.
  If your paragraph is 20 percent adjectives, it’s probably AI.
• Monotone pacing. Every sentence is roughly the same length and the same weight.
• Perfect grammar with zero personality. Humans are messy. Not careless. Just… alive.

So the goal is not to “humanize” by adding slang everywhere. The goal is to write like someone who actually means it

The fastest fix: tell the AI who it is and who it is writing for

Most people prompt like this:

“Write a blog post about X.”

That’s the root of the problem.

Instead, give it a role, an audience, and a few constraints that force it to make choices.

Here’s a base prompt you can reuse for almost anything.

Prompt 1: The Anti AI Voice Base Prompt (copy paste)

You are a human writer and editor. Write in natural, conversational English.

Audience: [who is reading this, and what do they already know?]
Tone: direct, practical, slightly imperfect sentence flow. Short paragraphs. Occasional fragments for emphasis.

Rules:

1. Do not use clichés like “in today’s world”, “delve”, “unlock”, “game changer”, “transform”.
2. Avoid corporate filler and abstract claims. Every paragraph must include something concrete: an example, a number, a mini story, or a specific recommendation.
3. Vary sentence length. Add rhythm.
4. If you’re unsure about a claim, either remove it or phrase it as a personal observation. No fake certainty.
5. Do not summarize sections with “In conclusion” style wrap ups.

Topic: [your topic]
Format: [blog post, email, landing page, script, etc]
Length: [target]

Start immediately with the point. No “this article will”.

That one prompt alone removes a shocking amount of AI smell.

But to get truly natural output, you want to add one more thing. Something most prompts miss.

A source of truth.

Add a “source of truth” so the writing stops floating

When writing feels fake, it is usually because it is ungrounded.

So give the model something real:

• A rough outline you actually care about
• A few bullet points from your experience
• A messy draft
• A customer email
• Notes from a call

Then prompt it like this.

Prompt 2: Turn messy notes into a human sounding draft

Here are my notes. They are messy on purpose.
Turn them into a draft that sounds like a real person wrote it. Keep my intent. Keep it practical.

Do not add new claims I didn’t imply. If you need a detail, leave a bracket like [add example here].

Writing style: short paragraphs, varied pacing, occasional fragments, clear opinions.

Notes:
[paste notes]

This is one of the cleanest ways to get “you” into the output. Because it literally has to follow your thought.

Prompts that remove the AI voice in specific formats

Different formats have different “tells”. So here are format specific prompts that work.

Prompt 3: Make a blog post sound like a person with taste

Rewrite this draft to sound more human.
Keep the meaning, but remove AI voice:

• remove generic intros and vague statements
• add 2 to 3 specific examples
• replace fluffy adjectives with concrete language
• vary sentence length and paragraph length
• keep it slightly imperfect and conversational

Draft:
[paste draft]

This is the prompt I use after the first generation. The second pass is where the magic is.

Prompt 4: Emails that do not sound like “marketing email template #4”

If you’re writing outreach, customer emails, onboarding emails, whatever. The AI voice is usually “too eager”.

Try this:

Write this email like a real person who is busy.
Keep it short. Remove hype. Remove filler.
Use plain language and one clear ask.

Context: [why you’re emailing]
Recipient: [who they are]
Offer: [what you want]
Constraints: 120 to 160 words. No exclamation marks.

End with a simple question.

If you want a tool built specifically for producing different variants quickly, WritingTools.ai has an AI Email Generator that’s basically made for this. The trick is still the same though. Short, specific, one ask.

Prompt 5: Add a human “spine” to an AI draft (opinion + tradeoffs)

A lot of AI writing fails because it never commits. So force it to.

Take this draft and add a point of view.
Pick a clear stance and support it with reasoning and tradeoffs.
Add one “I’ve seen this happen” style paragraph with a realistic scenario.

Draft:
[paste draft]

Even if you change the stance later, this gives the piece a backbone. You can feel it immediately.

The edit pass that actually removes the AI voice (my checklist)

Prompts help. But the final 20 percent comes from editing. Not heavy editing. Just targeted cuts.

Here’s what I do.

1) Delete the first paragraph (or rewrite it from scratch)

AI intros are almost always the worst part. They are trying to be universal. Humans don’t start there.

A better intro usually looks like:

• a specific problem
• a quick story
• a blunt take
• a sharp promise

So yeah. I often delete the first paragraph completely.

2) Hunt for “filler sentences” that say nothing

If a sentence could be removed and nothing changes, remove it.

Examples of filler:

• “It’s important to note that…”
• “This can be a great way to…”
• “There are several benefits to consider…”

Replace with something real, or cut.

3) Replace abstract nouns with verbs

AI loves abstract nouns. Humans use verbs.

Bad: “The implementation of a strategy can lead to improved outcomes.”
Better: “Do this consistently and you’ll usually see better results.”

To make your AI-generated content more relatable and engaging, you might want to consider strategies such as editing AI text to sound more human. This involves adding personal anecdotes, eliminating unnecessary filler phrases, and opting for active voice over abstract nouns, all of which can significantly enhance the readability and authenticity of your writing.

4) Add one small, specific detail per section

Not a huge case study. Just something that proves a human was here.

• “I usually cap the intro at 4 lines.”
• “If it takes me more than 12 minutes to edit, the draft was wrong.”
• “This works best for B2B blogs. For fiction, it can feel stiff.”

Little details do a lot of work.

5) Break the rhythm on purpose

AI often writes in evenly sized paragraphs. Fix it by mixing:

• one line paragraphs
• occasional fragments
• a longer paragraph when you’re explaining something complex

Read it out loud once. You’ll hear the monotone.

6) Remove “list bloat”

AI lists often include items that are technically true but unnecessary.

If a list has 9 bullets, it probably wants 5.

Keep the ones you’d actually defend in a conversation.

7) Swap out “fancy synonyms” for normal words

Delve -> look
Utilize -> use
Facilitate -> help
Leverage -> use, again
Robust -> solid
Seamless -> smooth, or just describe what’s smooth about it

This one step makes writing sound 10 times more human. No exaggeration.

A quick example: before and after (what changes)

Here’s a typical AI sentence:

“By leveraging advanced strategies, you can unlock your full potential and achieve optimal results.”

What I would turn it into:

“Pick one strategy. Run it for two weeks. Measure something real. Then decide if it’s worth keeping.”

Same intent. Totally different feel.

Or another:

AI: “It’s crucial to understand the importance of editing AI generated content.”
Human: “If you hit publish without editing, people can tell. Maybe not consciously, but they feel it.”

That’s the whole game. Less announcement. More reality.

Use an AI humanizer, but use it like an editor. Not a magic button.

“Humanizer” tools can help, especially when you already have a decent draft and you just want the phrasing to relax a little.

The mistake is using them at the start, on raw generic output. Then you just get rewritten generic output.

If you want to do this inside WritingTools.ai, their AI Humanizer is best used after you’ve already applied some structure and opinion. Think of it as a smoothing pass. Not the engine.

A simple workflow that works:

1. Generate draft with the Anti AI Voice Base Prompt
2. Rewrite with the “add a point of view” prompt
3. Do a quick manual edit (delete filler, fix intro)
4. Run a humanizer pass only if needed
5. Final read out loud

That’s it. That is the whole “write like a person” loop.

The one prompt I use when the draft feels almost right but still… off

This is my favorite “final pass” prompt because it targets the vibe, not the structure.

Prompt 6: The “sounds like a real person” polish prompt

You are my editor. This draft is good but still has AI voice.
Make it sound like a real human with taste wrote it.

Keep the meaning. Keep it clear.
Remove any lines that feel generic, overly balanced, or too polished.
Add subtle personality through wording and rhythm, not jokes.

Return:

1. The revised draft
2. A bullet list of the top 10 changes you made (short)

The “top 10 changes” part is important because it teaches you what to look for next time.

However, if you're struggling with crafting that perfect draft or finding the right words, consider using a paraphrasing tool. These tools can provide alternative phrasing and help refine your content further while maintaining its original meaning and intent.

A slightly uncomfortable truth: “natural” usually means “specific”

People ask, “How do I make it sound human?”

The real answer is, “How do I make it sound like someone who knows what they mean?”

Specificity does that.

So if you’re stuck, ask yourself:

• What would I tell a friend in one minute?
• What’s the example I’m avoiding because it’s too real?
• What do I actually think is overrated here?
• What would I remove if I had to cut 30 percent?

Put those answers into the prompt. Or into the edit.

And the AI voice starts dying fast.

A simple workflow you can steal (and repeat)

If you want the whole thing in one place, here’s the loop:

1. Start with constraints (Base Prompt).
2. Ground it with notes (messy notes prompt).
3. Force a stance (spine prompt).
4. Edit with the checklist (especially intro + filler).
5. Optional humanizer pass if it still feels stiff.

If you’re doing this regularly, it’s easier when your tool already has the writing and rewriting pieces built in. WritingTools.ai is basically designed for that. Generate, rewrite, edit, repeat. Without juggling five apps.

Wrap up (without the AI sounding “wrap up”)

The AI voice is not a curse. It’s just a pattern.

Fix the pattern and the writing gets better. Fast.

Use prompts that force decisions. Add real inputs like notes and examples. Then edit like a human editor, not like a grammar checker.

And if you want a quick place to run all of this, start with the AI Writing Assistant on WritingTools.ai, then iterate. Two passes. Maybe three. You’ll feel the difference when you read it back. It stops sounding like “content”.

It starts sounding like you.