Was This Written By AI? How to Detect AI-Generated Text

So many Amazon sellers write content now using an AI content generator – which we’ve advised against many times before. AI-written text tends to sound wooden and overly formal, which will affect your conversion and engagement. Nevertheless, we get it; when you’ve got lots to write, ChatGPT and other AI content tools can deliver output much faster, it’s more cost-effective, and it’s available round the clock. The question is, how can an Amazon seller leverage the results of the best AI tools, while enjoying the benefits provided by human writing? This week, we ask the important question: was this written by AI?

(By the way…this blog was not written by AI! We thought we’d clarify that real quick. All of YLT Translations’ blogs were written by a human, we promise!)

Why does it matter? You have 8.25 seconds to attract – and hold – the attention of your customer, according to Wyzowl. That’s a pretty short attention span…goldfish have an attention span of 9 seconds, so essentially, if you can keep the attention of a goldfish, you’ll keep the attention of your customers! Furthermore, Americans check their email inboxes 30 times an hour, and read maybe 20% of the words on a page. (If you’ve gotten this far, we’d like to shake your hand!) So, why invest in human-written content, when humans don’t even read? In fact, in 2003, the American National Literacy Survey showed that 14% of the adult American population has below average reading skills, and only 13% are “proficient.”

Okay, let’s answer our question. Why is it important to employ humans when writing content, given that humans don’t really read? That’s because text written by AI text generators don’t sound like humans, and you’re writing for human beings. The best way to engage these non-reading consumers is to tell a story, and to speak the way they speak. Sure, AI tools are getting more and more sophisticated with every day that passes, by they are still machines.

We asked ChatGPT, “What do YOU think about AI-generated text?” Here was its reply: “AI-generated text offers efficiency, consistency, and cost-effectiveness, making it valuable for businesses needing large volumes of content. However, it may lack creativity, contextual understanding, and emotional depth, necessitating human oversight for quality control. A hybrid approach, combining AI’s strengths with human creativity, can optimize content creation, ensuring both efficiency and authenticity.”

Did you read that part about emotional depth?

Let’s see if there’s a way to combine the cost-effectiveness of AI-generated writing with the engagement that human writing offers. We’ll also provide tips to ensure authenticity and engagement.

Curious for more? Check out this article on Artificial Intelligence in Product Listings, and if it’s a good idea.

1. Was This Written by AI? Why AI-Generated Text is Growing in Importance

Zapier published a blog on The 20 Best Generative AI Tools. For content, here are a few:

• Anyword for writing support

• Jasper for AI-powered marketing content

• Shortwave for email writing and management

• ChatGPT for versatility

• Claude for great writing skills

Why do Amazon sellers generate content using an AI writer? We’ve seen product listings generated completely on ChatGPT, and it’s quite obvious they’re written by an AI generative tool. Although the writing style is consistent across all child variations, no matter how many, the content generated by an AI tool just doesn’t sound human. Even worse, keywords aren’t optimized, or there’s insufficient SEO, because AI doesn’t have the capacity to input keywords the way a human writer would.

Nevertheless, it is faster to use an AI writing tool, especially if you’ve got hundreds of listings to churn out. Plus, you don’t have to deal with shifting schedules, especially if your copywriter is in a different time zone. You can expect output within minutes. Sure, the AI output may not be perfect, but it does the job, right?

Maybe not.

Here are the benefits and drawbacks of using AI for content creation:

Benefits	Drawbacks
Efficiency and Speed	Lack of Creativity and Originality
Produces content quickly.	Struggles with creative writing and unique insights.
Consistency	Contextual Understanding
Maintains consistent tone and style.	May miss nuances of complex topics and cultural references.
Cost-Effectiveness	Ethical Concerns
More cost-effective than hiring multiple writers.	Raises questions about authenticity and job displacement.
24/7 Availability	Quality Control
Works round-the-clock without fatigue.	Requires human oversight to ensure accuracy and quality.
Personalization and Customization	Engagement
Tailors content to specific audiences.	May lack emotional depth and personal touch, affecting engagement.

Although we’ll be answering the question, Was This Written by AI, the fact is that AI writing detection isn’t hard at all. A piece of content generated by AI just won’t sound right, and it also won’t rank as well on Amazon.

2. Was This Written by AI? Detect AI Content in Product Listings

AI generated product listings sound, well, robotic. You’ve got lots of repetitive phrases in the bullet points, meaning the content doesn’t flow nicely, and doesn’t lend itself to human conversion. If you’ve generated the listing by feeding keywords into your AI generators, then it’s likely that the listing has too many keywords with little logical sense – or they’re not hidden in the text in a creative way.

We fed ChatGPT a couple of keywords and some features. Here are the bullet points it came up with:

• Discover the perfect blend of style and functionality with our crossbody for women bag in brown, featuring adjustable straps for a customizable fit.
• This medium size crossbody bag for women measures 11″ x 8″ x 5″, providing ample space without being bulky, ideal for everyday use.
• Made with high-quality leather and canvas, our women’s crossbody purse combines durability with a chic design, perfect for both casual and formal outings.
• The versatile crossbody bag women love, offering a comfortable over-the-shoulder fit, perfect for hands-free convenience and security.
• Enhance your accessory collection with this tan bag for women, a stylish and practical bolso cruzado para mujer that complements any outfit.

The good parts? At least the writing is fluent. And the generated text does cover the bases.

The bad parts? Not all the keywords we fed GPT were incorporated in the listing, leaving out the chance to rank. A human copywriter would have found more features to extol, peppering more keywords into the bullet points to increase the ranking potential. Also, GPT added a Spanish long-tail keyword in the front end, which every Amazon seller knows is a big no-no. Also, the output sounds templated. If you want your listing to stand out in the jungle that’s Amazon search optimization, you’ll want to engage the customer through storytelling. This output is too generic and doesn’t effectively differentiate the product from the sea of purses out there.

It’s quite obvious that this text is written by AI. Your job, as an Amazon seller, is to sell, and you’re selling to human customers. Not a robot.

When you do your competitive analysis on Amazon, learn how to spot AI-generated content, and you’ll have a clue about your competitors’ performance.

Was this written by AI? If it sounds overly formal, YES. If it’s too generic, YES. If the keywords don’t make sense, or if the listing is stuffed with them with little fluency or eloquence, YES.

3. Was This Written by AI? AI Content Detection in Social Media Posts

We took the same product, and asked ChatGPT to write 3 Instagram posts to promote sales. Here’s what it came up with:

Instagram Post 1

Caption:

🌟 Elevate Your Style with Our Stunning Crossbody Bag! 🌟

Say hello to your new favorite accessory! Our brown crossbody bag, crafted with premium leather and canvas, is the perfect blend of elegance and practicality. With adjustable straps and a medium size (11″ x 8″ x 5″), it’s designed for the modern woman on the go. 👜✨

✨ Shop now and get 20% off your purchase! Use code: STYLE20 at checkout. ✨

#CrossbodyForWomenBag #MediumCrossbodyPurse #TanBagsForWomen #WomensCrossbodyPurse #BolsosCruzadosParaMujer #FashionSale

Instagram Post 2

Caption:
👛 Discover the Perfect Blend of Functionality and Style! 👛

Our brown crossbody bag is the ultimate accessory for any occasion. Featuring adjustable straps and a spacious design, this bag is crafted from luxurious leather and durable canvas. Perfect for keeping your essentials close and your style on point. 🌟

🔖 Limited Time Offer: Enjoy 15% off your purchase with code: CROSS15. Don’t miss out!

#WomensCrossbodyBags #CrossbodyBagWomen #OverTheShoulderBagsForWomen #CrossBodyPurse #BolsoCruzadoParaMujer #SaleAlert

Instagram Post 3

Caption:
✨ Chic and Practical: The Crossbody Bag You’ve Been Waiting For! ✨

Upgrade your accessory game with our beautiful brown crossbody bag. Measuring 11″ x 8″ x 5″, it offers ample space without the bulk. Made with high-quality leather and canvas, it’s perfect for any outfit and any occasion. 💼❤️

🔥 Flash Sale: 10% off for the next 48 hours! Use code: FLASH10 at checkout. 🔥

#CrossbodyBagsForWomenMediumSize #PurseCrossBody #WomensCrossBodyPurse #CrossShoulderBagsForWomen #CrossoverPursesForWomenCrossbody #FashionDeal

Okay, not bad. But it’s not perfect, either.

But was this written by AI? Here’s how you can tell:

• Predictable patterns and lack of spontaneity.
  • You’ll notice repetitive patterns and the natural spontaneity of human-written content. The writing often lacks personality or charm. Humans make errors, and that’s what makes the output so natural. Anything that’s picture perfect was probably not written by humans.
• Overuse of trending hashtags without context.
  • AI tools tend to use popular hashtags to excess, oftentimes without proper context. Why use bolso cruzado para mujer as a hashtag? Too many hashtags often makes the content appear insincere, and won’t connect with the audience.
• Generic engagement prompts.
  • Any copywriter worth their salt knows the call to action, or CTA, is a crucial metric for the performance of a post. Posts that are generated with AI have CTAs that are generic and lack personalization. “Comment below” or “what do you think?” are commonly used, but they may not encourage any sort of meaningful interaction.

So, how do you maintain authenticity in your social media posts?

There are several different ways, but the bottom line is to ensure your content is original. 

Take a look at Wendy’s, and how it poked fun at McDonald’s flub-up with AI content writing:

You want your social media posts to resonate with your audience – just like your Amazon product listings. If you’re speaking to your consumers in a robotic, generic voice, you can’t expect to engage them.

Here’s what Sprout Social published about customer feedback to social media posts:

Since AI sounds robotic and generic, it has no personality.

Since AI is a machine, it’s likely that the output will try to be funny – and it’ll miss the mark all the time. Furthermore, an AI tool is likely to use slang and jargon in completely wrong ways, so the output will sound wooden and inauthentic.

Before we wrap up this section on Was This Written by AI – the social media version, let’s laugh a little at Wendy’s stellar (human-written) content:

Their caption? “And he’s single.”

Now that’s good copywriting. It’s simple, it’s straightforward, it’s witty, and it uses language that its consumers use.

4. Was This Written by AI? Detecting AI Writing in Blog Posts

Without a doubt, an AI content detector would be a huge help in long-form blog posts, where it’s a little harder to detect the use of AI. Many colleges have resorted to using a plagiarism checker to make sure their students submit original work, as opposed to something generated by a tool like ChatGPT. The world is definitely changing, isn’t it?

When you’re asking, was this written by AI, it helps to check the blog for a uniform tone, over-reliance of factual information, and the absence of a clear voice or perspective.

Remember, AI culls information from all over the web, and condenses it to form an answer. That’s where human-written text wins over AI; it’s original.

So, here’s how you can tell if the blog was written by AI:

• The lack of personal anecdotes
  • We’re not talking about recipe blogs that discuss the author’s relationship with her great-uncle-twice-removed before getting into the recipe itself, 3/4 the way down the page. We’re talking about the stories that make content easy to read. (Like what we just did what that allegory of a recipe blog.) Humans understand the human condition. Humans understand human pain points and concerns. Humans are dialed into what it means to be human. An AI-generated blog may sound consistent all throughout the text, but those little anecdotes that make content relatable and engaging? You won’t find them. Because how can a robot tell you a personal story about Uncle Eddie and his love for pink lemonade? We rue the day that the bots learn how to be more human, and all our Hollywood nightmares come to pass.
• Over-reliance on factual information without deep analysis
  • Let’s go back to Amazon for a second. Any pro will tell you that effective bullet points lead with the benefit, not the feature. The features – the facts – may inform, but the benefits push the sale. An AI-generated blog will present tons of facts, but won’t go deep into why these facts matter. To push this metaphor further, AI presents features, but not enough of the benefit.
• Absence of a clear voice or perspective
  • AI-generated content lacks a distinct voice. It sounds robotic and mechanical. Plus, it usually doesn’t have a perspective. Your audience will want to agree or disagree with your position – that’s where engagement comes in. Take a look at content creators on TikTok that act rude on purpose – that’s a tactic to get people to engage with you. It’s the same with a blog. You put up a stance – like how we’re doing here, that human-written content will forever trump AI-generated content, regardless of the cost implications – and people will want to interact with you.

So, what to do?

Do we use AI in our blog creation here at YLT Translations?

Why, yes, of course we do; we’re not living in the dark ages, after all. Technology can make your life easier, and blogging isn’t always a walk in the park! But AI helps us research the topic, and create a blog outline. The writing of each of your YLT Translation blogs? Definitely written by a human being.

5. Was This Written by AI? Signs of AI in Emails

Super Office reports that every US$1 spent on email marketing, you can expect a return of $42, making it the most effective marketing tool out there. If you’re running your own Shopify site over and above your Amazon store, and you’re using emails to communicate news, promotions, and the like, you’re definitely on the right track.

The same article gives 7 tips for better email marketing campaigns:

1. Personalize your messages – don’t make the horrible mistake of putting “Dear Customer” – how cringey can you get?
2. Segment your subscribers. This means using CRM software to target specific customers for different types of emails. Write some emails for the PTA mom, another for the teenyboppers (do people even say “teenybopper” anymore?), another for the Plaid Dads out there.
3. Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly! Keep it short and sweet, and include graphics.
4. Test your copy, design, and buttons. A/B testing is your friend.
5. Automate email campaigns where possible – we’re talking about trigger-based emails that your email provider will send out automatically based on specific behavior, such as checking out, leaving an item in the cart, and restock alerts.
6. Create great subject lines to increase open rates.
7. Send your emails at the right time – so, when your target audience is most likely checking their emails.

When asking, was this written by AI, you’re probably looking at all your promotional emails, wondering which of these has that personal, human touch, and which one a brand took shortcuts with.

How can you tell?

Red Flags in AI-Generated Emails are:

• • Formal and impersonal tone.
  • Generic templates and lack of customization.
  • Repetitive language and structure.

So, don’t make these mistakes. Personalize your emails. Keep your target audience in mind. And if you do decide to employ an AI content generator to help you out, make sure you edit the output to reflect your brand’s voice, and your consumers’ preferences.

6. Was This Written by AI? Balancing Human-Written and AI-Generated Text

Whether you’re window shopping on Amazon, or checking your competitors’ listings, it helps to ask yourself, was this written by AI? As we’ve shown today, content that’s fully AI-generated will not do well for your engagement and conversion.

But we get it. AI is cheaper, more immediate, and more scalable.

The question you have to ask yourself is, are you willing to take that risk? When you’re expanding globally, conversion and engagement are absolutely vital while you’re establishing your foothold in new marketplaces. By using an AI content generator for your listings and marketing materials, you might end up shooting yourself in the foot. All that time you saved by getting listings published lickety-split? Wasted. You’ve effectively put a product on a shelf without anyone wanting to buy it.

Even worse – if you’ve used AI to translate your keywords from English to another language, you can rest assured AI got it wrong. That’s why we encourage sellers to generate new keywords for every culture. What customers call your product in Germany may not be the same thing your Singaporean customers call it. You risk losing your customers altogether if you bring your keyword research through machine translations. If you’re using ChatGPT to translate your listings – even with new keyword research – you risk losing the plot completely. Not only will the output sound wooden and robotic, it might even miss the mark altogether. You risk offending your new customers.

And that’s not a risk worth taking.

So, here’s how to use AI the right way – employ human oversight. Go ahead and use AI as the tool it was meant to be. It can create you initial drafts and research, but use a human editor to refine content. That way, you’ll stay efficient, without compromising on creativity and accuracy.

Think about developing a workflow where AI generates the initial idea, and a human writer adds personal insights, creativity, and understanding.

The goal is to establish content that’s both engaging and accurate – without breaking the bank!

7. Was This Written by AI? How to Detect AI-Generated Content

Nevertheless, AI text generation is getting more and more sophisticated as time goes on. Sometimes, it’s hard to identify AI generated content. Imagine the irony of this – there are now AI content detection tools that use AI to detect AI. (We have no words.)

Here’s a rundown of the Top 5 AI Detection Tools that can help you answer the question, was this written by AI?

Tool	How It Works	Accuracy	Cost Implications
GPTZero	Analyzes text for “perplexity” and “burstiness” to determine the likelihood of being AI-generated.	Generally high accuracy, particularly effective in educational settings.	Free with limited usage; contact for pricing on higher usage plans.
Originality.ai	Uses natural language processing to detect AI-generated content, offering detailed analysis and a visualizer for text copy-pasting.	Claims up to 94% accuracy for identifying AI content, especially effective with GPT-3 and GPT-4.	$0.01 per 100 words; additional credits and features available for purchase.
Writer AI Content Detector	Simple interface that provides a percentage score for AI detection based on the input text.	Effective for short texts, accuracy around 85-90%.	Free for basic usage; enterprise plans available for large-scale detection (contact for pricing).
Copyleaks AI Detector	Analyzes text for AI and plagiarism, using a comprehensive database and machine learning.	High reliability, often over 90% accuracy for combined AI and plagiarism detection.	Subscription-based with various plans starting at $10/month for basic use; enterprise plans available.
Crossplag	Uses advanced machine learning algorithms to analyze text and identify AI-generated content.	Known for its high accuracy, around 90%, and useful in academic and professional contexts.	Subscription-based with pricing tailored to usage needs; educational discounts available.

Keep in mind that these tools, like most AI, is not 100% fool-proof.

We brought the first few paragraphs of this blog through GPTZero, and it gave a 93% score that this blog was entirely human, meaning that 7% of the text was AI-generated.

Disclaimer: it’s not.

Conclusion: AI Detection Can Be Done By Humans!

To recap – AI tools can definitely make life easier. The output is cheaper and more immediate than human output, meaning sellers that plan to scale rapidly will find much use for AI. But AI use comes with its own risks: the output tends to sound wooden and robotic, and it misses out on a lot of the nuances and character that human writers imbue in their copywriting.

Let’s say you employ teams of contractors, copywriters, and virtual assistants – as any smart seller would do. It would help you loads to check first, was this written by AI? Remember, if you publish a blog, email, or listing that was generated with AI, you’re undertaking a risky endeavor. At best, you’ll ruin your conversion metrics; at worst, you will offend a sensitive target market.

Embracing a balanced approach is best. Use AI as a tool; nothing more. Your human staff must be empowered to use their creativity to add wit, charm, humor, and personality to the output. You wouldn’t expect a tractor to till a field on its own, without the direction of a farmer, would you? It follows then that a human being must be at the helm of your content and marketing.

Balancing AI capabilities with human ingenuity is key to success in your endeavors – especially as you expand globally!

Remember, artificial intelligence is an inexact science. Although there are a bunch of tools that can help you identify AI-generated text, the best way to check really is by asking a human being. Does the writing flow? Is it engaging? Is it fun to read? Does it add value to your life?

That’s the best tool of all – the human condition!

For more insights on Amazon selling, localization, and technology, be sure to follow Jana on LinkedIn. She posts lots of content about these topics regularly!