We have all seen it. You start reading an article, an email, or a LinkedIn post, and within three seconds, your brain goes: “A robot wrote this.” But what exactly triggers that feeling?

It’s not just bad grammar—in fact, it’s usually because the grammar is too perfect. It’s the specific, flowery, “corporate-poet” vocabulary that ChatGPT and Gemini seem obsessed with.

A new discussion blowing up on r/notebooklm has cracked the code. Users are compiling the ultimate “Do Not Use” list of words that instantly flag your content as AI-generated. If you are using these words, you might be accidentally telling the world you didn’t write your own content.

The Breakdown: Why Does AI Talk Like That?

Before we get to the banned word list, why does this happen?

LLMs (Large Language Models) like GPT-4 and Claude are trained on massive amounts of internet text, including academic papers, corporate press releases, and marketing copy. When they try to sound “smart” or “helpful,” they default to the most statistically probable “smart” words.

The result? A distinct accent. It’s a mix of an overly enthusiastic HR manager and a 19th-century poet.

The “Banned” List (According to Reddit)

The community at r/notebooklm has identified the worst offenders. If you see these in your draft, hit delete immediately:

• “Delve” (The #1 offender. If you “delve into” something, you are a bot.)

• “Testament” (e.g., “This is a testament to…”)

• “Unwavering” (e.g., “Unwavering commitment”)

• “Tapestry” (e.g., “A rich tapestry of culture”)

• “Landscape” (e.g., “In the rapidly evolving landscape…”)

• “Underscore” (e.g., “This underscores the importance…”)

• “Game-changer” (Overused to the point of meaninglessness)

The Community Pulse: What People Are Actually Saying

The comment section was a mix of frustration, humor, and genuine advice. Here is what the internet really thinks about “AI Speak”:

1. The “Psychology” Trigger One user pointed out how specific contexts trigger specific AI words:

“As soon as psychology is mentioned, the word ‘Gently’ is going to be used.” — u/AllyPointNex

2. The Problem with “Smart” Writing The saddest part? Some humans actually do write like this, and now they are being accused of being bots.

“I use all of these common AI words in my writing and I’m staunchly against using any form of AI on principle. Now it just makes me worry I’ve made people think I used AI when I didn’t.” — u/mandoa_sky

3. The “Unlock” Fatigue Marketing copy is suffering the most. One user noted that AI loves to “unlock” potential:

“Unlock drives me crazy for any marketing copy.” — u/cherrypashka

4. The Evolving Trap

“The problem is this list isn’t static. What’s popular with AI today may not be a few months from now… it’s always evolving.” — u/razorsquare

The Final Verdict

The line between human and AI writing is getting blurry, but the “vibe” check is real.

If you want your writing to rank on Google and—more importantly—connect with humans, you need to write like you speak. Humans don’t “delve into rich tapestries of distinct landscapes.” We just look at stuff.