Does my writing sound like AI? Claude ranked my red flag habits

What could be better than an em dash? They pepper my writing, adding dramatic pauses and emphasizing my biggest points. I love em dashes — so does AI.

The use — and overuse — of em dashes is, of course, a classic AI writing tell, along with such AI writing quirks as the “it’s not just this; it’s that” construction (which itself can be combined with an em dash) and lengthy sentences that seem to stretch into infinity.

Like plenty of other online writers, my articles are regularly accused of sounding like AI. While web-based AI detectors have repeatedly assured me that my stories sounded human, I wanted more details — and most of all, I wanted to discover if my em-dash obsession was the writing crutch that drew the most “you’re AI!” fire.

For the test, I turned to Claude, feeding 10 of my most recent articles to Claude Sonnet 4.6 (using the Claude Cowork) tool and giving it a simple prompt:

Can you look at my writing samples in the directory and list all the ways in which I sound like AI, including how often I use classic “AI tells” in my writing? Give me a ranked list.

I braced myself for the bad news, anticipating that overused em dashes (as I previously mentioned) would be my biggest — if false! — AI tell.

Turns out, not quite. Here’s what Claude ranked as my number-one “sound like AI” issue:

The parenthetical asides — 67 in ~11,700 words.

It’s the one pattern that’s both frequent and structural. Long sentences can be a rushing problem, em dashes can be a style choice, but constantly tucking clarifications into parentheses instead of committing to the sentence reads like AI hedging its bets — saying the thing while also quietly footnoting the exceptions. Human writers who do it this much usually get edited out of it.

Yep, it’s true, I’m a sucker for a good parenthetical, and it’s a habit my editors have (quite rightfully) called me out for. (I know, I’m doing it again.)

But rest assured, em dashes came in a close second:

Em/en dash overuse: 78 instances — roughly one every 150 words. AI uses em dashes as a crutch to splice clauses that should either be separate sentences or use a comma. Many of yours are fine, but the density is high.

And here’s the rest of the list:

The good news, according to Claude, is that my writing generally does sound human, ranking just 3 out of 10 on the “sounds like AI” meter. Claude elaborated on my score, tossing in a few em dashes of its own for good measure:

While I’m pleased to hear I mostly don’t sound like AI, Claude’s last point is a fair one – indeed, it echoes last week’s “critique, don’t rewrite” prompt, which makes an AI give you an honest evaluation of a writing sample.

In any event, I’ll try using those em dashes more sparingly in the future, and the same goes double for parentheticals.

That’s not just wishful thinking; it’s a promise.

Ben has been writing about consumer technology for more than 20 years, and now focuses his reporting on AI as it relates to the basic human experience. His coverage of artificial intelligence interrogates the latest LLMs, and how they can be used at work and at home to be best prepared for the AI revolution. “AI is going to change our lives sooner than we think,” Ben writes. “Our best way to adapt is by using it every day.” Ben has been a PCWorld author since 2014, and has covered everything from laptops to security cameras before launching PCWorld’s AI beat. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.