A cinematic first-person perspective photo showing the hands of a black woman in her mid-50s typing on a vintage black typewriter with round keys. One hand and arm is human and the other hand and arm is a bright white bionic arm and hand with yellow neon accents. The lighting is warm and ambient, evoking a quiet writer’s studio. The typewriter is tactile and worn, with visible detail on the keys. Papers and writing notes are scattered across a wooden desk. The mood is introspective and surreal.
Even if you’ve never touched ChatGPT, the way you write – the words you reach for, the sentences you shape – might already be echoing the machine.
Not because you’re lazy, but because you’re surrounded by content written (or co-written) by AI. It’s in decks, briefs, proposals, emails, even social posts. And quietly, it’s reshaping what “good” writing sounds like.
I love AI. But you have to be a clever co-creator with it. It’s about knowing where it influences you, especially when it comes to your tone – the thing that separates your copy from everything else on the internet.
So, let’s talk about what’s changing, and what to do about it.
1. The Em Dash Panic
For years, the em dash was the darling of stylists. Clean, expressive, interruptive in all the right ways. Then AI started using it. A lot.
This wasn’t a glitch. AI just mimicked human writing, and since writers love em dashes, so did the machines.
But then came the backlash. In early 2025, a wave of posts on X and LinkedIn started framing the em dash as a “tell,” a way to sniff out AI-generated copy. (source) Result? Human writers started self-censoring.
In advertising, that’s a problem. The em dash is useful, punchy, and it carries rhythm. But now, some writers are dropping it – not because it’s wrong, but because it might look wrong.
That’s not style. That’s fear.
2. AI’s Favorite Buzzwords Are Infecting Brand Copy
If you’ve seen the word nuance in a positioning doc lately, or tapestry in a brand story, or meticulous in an About Us page, congratulations — you’ve met AI’s favorite adjectives.
These words are part of what one study called “lexical overcompensation,” terms that feel elevated and intelligent, but quickly lose power when they start showing up everywhere. The Max Planck Institute found a measurable rise in these words across digital speech and writing since 2023 (source). They’re not bad words. They’re just hollow now, used more for effect than for meaning.
As a result:
- Junior writers, soaking up AI-influenced content, adopt them as defaults.
- Senior writers actively strip them out to protect tone and voice.
- Clients start asking for “freshness,” without knowing why things feel tired.
This is how AI creates sameness — not through errors, but through excess. Overuse makes even good language feel generic.
3. Perfect Structure = Dead Copy
Here’s the quietest shift, but maybe the most dangerous: AI-influenced sentence structure.
Modern language models write with rhythm. Paragraphs are balanced, sentences flow, and transitions are clean. It’s technically “good writing.”
But that’s also the problem – it’s too good. Too even. Too clean. It reads like it’s been sanded smooth, no voice, no friction, no texture.
And now, human copywriters are starting to mimic that same rhythm:
- Every paragraph is 4–5 sentences.
- Every sentence has the same structure: setup, action, conclusion.
- Copy length expands to meet a formal, academic tone, even in places where it should shout, not explain.
Good advertising writing often breaks rhythm on purpose. It should zig when the reader expects a zag. It should breathe. Surprise. Snap.
Instead, many human writers – especially those using AI to assist or “clean up” – are creating copy that’s structurally fine but emotionally flat.
So… What Do You Do With This?
Use AI. It frees you up to unleash your creativity where it’s most needed. But take this as a reminder to use it well, and stay alert to what it’s doing to your own voice.
💡 Here’s how to avoid the AI echo chamber:
- Audit your language. If nuance, tapestry, meticulous (or AI’s next favorite word) shows up – ask yourself: would I have used this two years ago?
- Keep the em dash (if it’s yours). Don’t let trends scare you out of your own rhythm.
- Break your own rules. Varied sentence structures. Fragments. The occasional messy thought. That’s voice.
- If you use AI, use it with voice rules. Pencil lets you guide AI with your brand tone, so it doesn’t slip into default “marketing speak.”
✏️ Final Take
AI doesn’t just write for us.
It writes around us — shaping the words we read, the tone we imitate, the structure we start to think is normal.
If you’re a copywriter, your job isn’t to be correct.
Your job is to be recognizable.
So use AI. And use it smartly. Use it loudly. Use it like a tool, not a voice.
And if your copy starts to sound a little too perfect?
Break something.
