You ask it for a customer email and it hands back something a 25-year-old marketing intern would write. So you rewrite the whole thing yourself and wonder what the point was.
Last updated: October 2026 · By Gen X Still Standing
Everybody's AI writing sounds the same now. Same phrases. Same fake-excited tone. Everything is a "game-changer." Everything "unlocks" something. Generic is all it's got, because generic is all you gave it.
To get it writing like you, stop describing your voice and start showing it.
Most people write one line like "I'm friendly and professional." That tells your AI nothing. Everybody thinks they're friendly and professional.
What works is real samples. Three or more real things you wrote or said, pasted in as-is. A text to a friend. An email to a customer. A social post. A voice note you had transcribed. Real ones, not your best ones.
The words you never say do more work than anything else. Start with these. They show up in AI writing constantly, and almost nobody uses them in real life:
Add your own. Anything that makes you cringe goes on the list. Then tell your AI to check everything it writes against it.
Read it out loud. If you'd be embarrassed to say it to a friend at a cookout, it's not you. Ask three things. Would I actually say this to a real person? Is it longer than it needs to be? Does it sound like me on a good day, or like a brochure?
Your AI will try to make you sound better than you are. Cleaner, more polished, more "professional." Don't let it. If it rewrites your "ain't" into "is not," tell it to put it back. The point is that it sounds like you, rough edges included.
Samples and a banned list fix the robot sound for one chat. They don't fix the forgetting. Tomorrow's chat won't have any of it unless it lives in a file your AI reads every time, right next to who you are, who you serve and what you sell. That's a setup, not a single prompt.
I learned the trades hands-on and ran my own construction company in Colorado. An injury put me in the hospital and ended my construction career for good. So at 53, off YouTube videos, I taught myself AI. I wasn't a tech guy. You don't need to be one either.
Get the free Stop Starting Over worksheet. Do the math on your own week, see what re-explaining yourself to AI is costing you, and find the one file your AI should read first, every time.
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Why does AI writing all sound the same?
Nobody told it who you are, so it fills the gap with the average of everybody on the internet. Same phrases, same fake-excited tone.
How do I get AI to write like me?
Show it instead of describing it. Paste in three or more real things you wrote or said, then give it a list of words you never use.
What words make writing sound like AI?
Common ones include game-changer, unlock, elevate, dive in, delve, seamless, leverage as a verb, excited to announce, and journey when nobody's traveling.
How do I know if it sounds like me?
Read it out loud. If you'd be embarrassed to say it to a friend at a cookout, it's not you.
Does this only work in ChatGPT?
No. Real samples and a banned list work in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or anything that can read a document.
Educational only. Results vary and are not guaranteed. You're responsible for reviewing anything AI produces. Gen X Still Standing is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google. Built by a Gen Xer with AI, for Gen Xers.
