In this guide6 sections
Last updated June 2026
You ran your email through Claude and got something that reads like every other marketing email in your inbox. That is the default output. Here is how to break it.
To use AI to write copy without sounding like AI, run a 3-step de-AI workflow: first, paste your best copy and prompt Claude to extract your specific voice rules. Second, inject real details to replace every generic phrase. Third, run a checklist prompt that strips AI tells. The full method with copy-paste prompts is below.
Why does AI copy sound like AI? (And why that kills conversions)
AI defaults to corporate filler, vague outcomes, and parallel sentence structures because those patterns dominate its training data, not because good copy looks like that.
Here are the five most common AI tells you will find in raw output:
- Rhetorical-question openers: "Are you struggling to…?"
- Filler transitions: "In today's landscape," "It's important to note that"
- Vague -ize verbs used as action words: optimize, streamline, revolutionize, supercharge
- Three-part parallel structures ending in a hollow noun: "save time, reduce stress, and grow your business"
- Generic outcomes with no real number: "unlock your potential," "transform your results"
AI tells signal "I did not write this" before the reader reaches your offer. Trust breaks before the CTA.
The fix is not a better prompt. It is a workflow. Knowing which copywriting framework to apply helps, but AI follows the framework only after you give it your voice rules first. That is what the 3-step system below does.
The 3-step de-AI workflow (with copy-paste prompts)
The 3-step de-AI workflow runs voice extraction first, then specificity injection, then the edit pass, in that order, to produce AI-drafted copy that reads like yours.
The order matters. Voice first, because it primes every draft. Specificity second, because you cannot replace vague structure until voice rules are in place. Edit pass last, so you are scanning for surface patterns only, not rebuilding architecture from scratch.
Step 1: Voice extraction
Voice extraction pulls your writing patterns (sentence length, opener style, specific vocabulary) into a reusable rule set that primes every AI draft that follows.
Paste 3 to 5 of your best-converting emails, ads, or landing page sections into the prompt below. You get back 10 to 15 specific rules, each backed by a quoted line from your real copy as evidence. Not "write conversationally." The actual extracted pattern: "Open sentences with a number or a named problem 60% of the time, see: '47 words that kill conversion'."
Save the output. Paste it at the top of every AI copy session going forward. That is your voice brief.
Copy-paste prompt: Voice Extraction (Step 1)
You are a voice analyst. I will paste 3 to 5 pieces of my best-performing marketing copy below.
Your job: extract my writing voice as a set of 10 to 15 concrete, specific rules.
For each rule, quote one line from my copy as evidence.
Format each rule as: [RULE]: [EVIDENCE QUOTE]
Do not give me general advice like "write conversationally."
Give me the exact patterns you observe: sentence length, opener style, vocabulary choices,
what I avoid, and what I repeat.
I will paste these rules into every AI copy job going forward as my voice brief.
[PASTE YOUR COPY HERE -- 3 TO 5 PIECES, SEPARATED BY ---]
Step 2: Specificity injection
Specificity injection replaces every generic phrase ("results", "your audience", "simple solution") with a real detail, or flags it [GENERIC] for a human rewrite.
AI copy is vague because vagueness is safe. Real copy is specific because specificity sells. "27% higher open rate in 14 days" usually outperforms "better results." After running voice extraction, paste the AI draft into this prompt. It returns a revised draft with real details substituted in, or marks every generic phrase [GENERIC] for you to fix by hand.
Copy-paste prompt: Specificity Injection (Step 2)
You are a direct-response copy editor. Below is a draft of [COPY TYPE: email / ad / landing page].
Your job: replace every generic phrase with a specific detail, or flag it [GENERIC] for me to fix.
Rules:
- Replace "results" with a real number or outcome (example: "27% higher open rate in 14 days")
- Replace "solution" or "system" with the actual mechanism name (example: "the 3-step de-AI workflow")
- Replace "audience" or "customers" with a concrete descriptor (example: "solopreneurs selling a $97 course")
- Replace "easy" or "simple" with the actual time or effort (example: "12 minutes" or "one paste, one prompt")
- Replace "more" with a specific comparison (example: "3x more replies than the control email")
- Flag any sentence that could apply to ANY offer with [GENERIC]
Return the revised copy only. No explanation. No compliments.
[PASTE DRAFT HERE]
Step 3: The edit pass
The edit pass is a prompt-driven checklist that scans the draft for AI tells, marks each [KILL], and suggests a replacement or deletion.
Run this last. After voice and specificity are in, you are only scanning for surface patterns. The checklist below covers the 10 most common AI tells. If more than 3 flags come back, the draft needed Steps 1 and 2 more than it needed this step.
Copy-paste prompt: AI Tell Checklist (Step 3)
You are a copy editor. Read the copy below and flag every AI tell using this checklist.
Mark each instance [KILL] and suggest a replacement, or mark it DELETE if nothing saves it.
AI TELLS TO FIND:
- "In today's [landscape / world / era / age]"
- "It's important to note that"
- "Delve into" / "Dive deep" / "Leverage" / "Utilize"
- "Unlock [potential / growth / success / opportunities]"
- Any -ize word used vaguely (optimize, maximize, streamline, revolutionize, supercharge)
- Three-part parallel structures ending in a vague noun ("save time, reduce stress, and grow your business")
- Paragraphs that open with a rhetorical question ("Are you struggling to...?")
- "Cutting-edge" / "game-changing" / "next-level" / "transform your [X]"
- Filler transitions: "Furthermore" / "Moreover" / "In conclusion" / "Ultimately" / "As a result"
- Sentences where the subject is "this" or "it" with no clear antecedent
Do not rewrite the whole piece. Flag and fix the tells only.
[PASTE COPY HERE]
Want all three prompts pre-formatted as a single paste-and-go voice brief, plus 27 more marketing prompts organized by funnel stage? Grab the free pack: 30 marketing prompts plus the AI copy edit checklist. Drop your email, no card.
Before and after: the same email, raw AI vs de-AI
The same prompt produces two different outputs: one generic, one specific and human, based solely on running the 3-step workflow.
Before (raw AI output for an Asset Academy community promo email):
"Are you struggling to leverage cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionize your copywriting process? In today's fast-paced digital landscape, it's important to note that having the right tools and strategies can make all the difference. Our comprehensive community helps you unlock your full potential and streamline your content creation workflow, so you can save time, reduce stress, and grow your business. Sign up today and transform the way you create marketing content."
AI tells marked [KILL]: "Are you struggling to" / "leverage" / "cutting-edge" / "revolutionize" / "In today's fast-paced digital landscape" / "it's important to note that" / "unlock your full potential" / "streamline your" / "save time, reduce stress, and grow your business" / "transform"
That is 10 AI tells in 62 words. Every sentence is a generic promise that could describe any offer in any market. Nothing is specific to Asset Academy. Nothing names a real result. Nothing earns trust.
After (de-AI version, post-workflow):
"You ran your sales email through Claude and got something that reads like every other marketing email in your inbox. That is the default output. Inside Asset Academy, we run a 3-step de-AI workflow on every AI draft: extract your voice rules, inject real specifics, kill the filler. Members who use the workflow ship their first converted email in under a week. The edit checklist is free. The community is $96 a month."
Zero AI tells. Every sentence names something real: the tool (Claude), the workflow (3 named steps), the mechanism (voice rules, real specifics, filler removed), the result (converted email in under a week), the price ($96). That is how to use AI to write copy that sounds human.
What is the best AI tool for writing copy in 2026?
Claude (Anthropic) is the best AI tool for copywriting in 2026 because its instruction-following is precise enough to hold a full voice rule set and a checklist prompt in a single session without drift.
The practical difference: paste your 10-rule voice brief and the specificity checklist together at the start of a Claude session, and it follows both for the full conversation. ChatGPT works with this workflow too, but the rules need re-pasting more often once the context grows long.
Definition: Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic, trained with Constitutional AI, and rated by practitioners as the strongest tool for long-system-prompt copy tasks in 2026.
Both tools work. The prompts above are tested in both. Pick whichever one your team already uses. The workflow is the variable. The tool is not. For the full breakdown of AI tools by copy task, see the AI Marketing hub. To build your own voice rule set in 60 seconds, use the AI copy prompt generator.
FAQ
How do you write copy with AI without it sounding like AI?
Run a 3-step workflow: (1) extract your voice rules from your best-performing copy, (2) inject real specifics to replace every generic phrase, (3) run an AI tell checklist prompt on the final draft. All three copy-paste prompts are in this article.
Why does AI writing sound robotic?
AI training data over-represents corporate blog content and formal writing, so the model defaults to those patterns: vague parallel structures, filler transitions, and universal claims that could describe any offer. None of those patterns appear in copy that converts.
How do you make ChatGPT or Claude sound like you?
Use the voice extraction prompt above on 3 to 5 pieces of your real copy. The model returns your specific patterns: opener style, sentence length, vocabulary, what you avoid. Paste that rule set at the top of every AI copy session as your voice brief.
What are the most common AI tells in copy?
The top five: rhetorical-question openers ("Are you struggling to…?"), filler transitions ("In today's landscape"), vague -ize verbs (optimize, streamline, revolutionize), three-part parallels ending in a vague noun, and generic outcomes with no real number ("unlock your potential"). The edit pass prompt above flags all ten.
Can AI write high-converting sales copy?
Yes, but not from raw output alone. The raw draft is a starting point. The 3-step workflow (voice extraction, specificity injection, edit pass) is what turns a generic AI draft into copy that converts. In our experience, members inside Asset Academy who run this workflow tend to ship their first converted email within a week.
The workflow is yours. The next level is building it into every campaign.
The three prompts above work tonight. Run them on your next draft and see what the before/after looks like in your own copy.
When you are ready to go faster, get feedback on your actual campaigns, and build a full AI-assisted copy system with the frameworks and voice work behind it, that is what happens inside Asset Academy.
Live copy feedback from people who have shipped copy on $50K/day accounts. A prompt library built for direct-response operators. Real craft, not theory.
Join Asset Academy ($96/mo)
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