Prompt Engineering for Content & Sales · Brand voice, evaluation and originality · lesson 14 of 15 · 11 min

Escaping generic AI output: originality techniques

The sameness problem

As more people use similar tools with similar prompts, a recognizable "AI voice" has emerged: tidy three-part lists, the same stock openers, predictable metaphors and upbeat conclusions. Audiences scroll past it. Your competitive advantage is whatever the model cannot know: your experiences, customers, opinions and data.

Tell-tale signs of generic output

Openers like "In today's fast-paced world" or "Are you ready to take your X to the next level?"
Over-used words: elevate, unlock, seamless, game-changer, delve, landscape, journey, empower.
Everything in groups of three; every paragraph the same length.
Vague benefits ("boost your productivity") without a concrete example.
A neat moral at the end of every post.
No opinion, no tension, no specifics.

Seven techniques for original output

1. Feed it raw material only you have. Voice notes, customer DMs (anonymized), sales call quotes, your failures, behind-the-scenes details. "Here is a voice note transcript of me explaining why I quit my job. Turn it into a LinkedIn post. Keep my phrases; don't polish away the rough edges."

2. Start with your opinion. "My contrarian view: most small brands post too often. Write a post defending this view with my reasons: [reasons]."

3. Demand specifics. "Replace every general claim with a specific example, number (from my data only) or story." "Name the exact moment, place or object."

4. Ban the clichés explicitly. Maintain a banned-phrase list in your voice guide and include it in prompts. Ask the model to self-check: "Before finalizing, remove any phrase from the banned list and any sentence that could appear in any brand's post."

5. Change the form. Instead of a standard caption, try a list of mistakes you made, a text-message conversation, a "things I'd tell my younger self" format, or a mini case study with a real (consented) customer.

6. Use AI for structure, you for the words. Ask for an outline, angles or a critique, then write the key lines yourself. Many successful creators use AI mainly for thinking and editing, not final wording.

7. Edit for rhythm and voice. Read it aloud. Vary sentence length. Cut the throat-clearing first sentence. Add the joke only you would make.

Worked example: from generic to specific

Generic AI draft (Dubai real estate agent): "Looking for your dream home in Dubai? Our expert team is here to guide you through every step of your property journey. Contact us today to unlock the door to your future!"

Prompt with raw material:

Rewrite this using these real details: last month I showed a family 11 villas in Arabian Ranches before they chose the 12th because the kids' bedrooms got morning light. My view: most buyers over-focus on the kitchen and under-focus on commute time at 7:30am. Keep it conversational. Ban: dream, journey, unlock, expert team.

Result (after light human edit): "Last month a family viewed 11 villas with me. They picked number 12, not for the kitchen, but because the kids' rooms got morning sun. Here's what I tell every buyer: drive the school run at 7:30am before you fall in love with a kitchen island. DM me 'COMMUTE' and I'll send you the checklist I use."

(The agent checks that sharing the anecdote does not identify the family.)

Hands-on: the raw-material rewrite

Collect three pieces of raw material only you have: a voice memo transcript, an anonymized customer message, and a real number from your own data. Then:

Here is a draft post: [paste generic draft].
Rewrite it using ONLY these real details: [voice memo quote], [customer message, anonymized], [real number + source].
Keep my phrases from the voice memo; don't polish away rough edges.
Ban: [your banned list]. No groups of three. No moral at the end.
Before finalizing, remove any sentence that could appear in any other brand's post.

Before: "In today's fast-paced world, finding the right accountant can be a game-changer for your small business journey."

After: "Last April a bakery owner brought me a shoebox of receipts and said, 'I think the tax office hates me.' We sorted it in two afternoons. The shoebox wasn't the problem; not knowing which 11 receipts mattered was. Here's the list." (Every detail is true and used with permission.)

Use AI for thinking, you for the words

Many strong creators now use assistants mainly to find angles, critique drafts and cut, then write the key lines themselves. Try it for a week: ask for 10 angles and a critique, but write the first and last lines of every post yourself.

Pitfalls

Swapping one cliché for another. Banning words is not enough; add real specifics.
Fake specificity. Inventing stories or numbers to sound authentic is deception. Use only true details.
Losing your voice through over-editing with AI. Keep some imperfection.

Video lecture: Escaping generic AI output: originality techniques

Lecture coming soon · 11 chapters · about 9 minutes. Read the full transcript below.

Escaping generic AI output
Why it matters
The tells
The home-cooked meal analogy
Seven techniques
Example 1: the estate agent
Example 2: the accountant's shoebox
Watch me do it
AI for thinking, you for the words
Never fake specificity
Recap and try this now

Lecture transcript

Escaping generic AI output

Scroll through any social feed today and you'll see it: in today's fast paced world. Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Unlock, elevate, seamless, game changer. Three bullet points and a neat moral at the end. As more people use similar tools with similar prompts, a recognizable AI voice has emerged, and audiences scroll right past it. In this lecture you'll learn to spot the tells, seven techniques that make AI assisted content genuinely original, and the one line you must never cross. You'll see a Dubai estate agent's before and after, and watch me do a raw material rewrite.

Why it matters

Why does this matter? Because sameness is invisible. If your content sounds like everyone else's, it doesn't matter how well it's written. Here's the key idea. Your competitive advantage is whatever the model can't know: your experiences, your customers, your opinions and your data. The model has read the internet. It hasn't sat in your client meetings, answered your customers' messages or made your mistakes. Specific, true details build trust, because they're hard to fake and easy to recognize.

The tells

Learn to spot the tells. Stock openers, like in today's fast paced world, or are you ready to take your X to the next level. Overused words: elevate, unlock, seamless, game changer, delve, landscape, journey, empower. Everything in groups of three, with every paragraph the same length. Vague benefits, like boost your productivity, without a concrete example. A neat moral at the end of every post. And no opinion, no tension, no specifics. Once you see these, you can't unsee them. And neither can your audience.

The home-cooked meal analogy

Think of generic AI content as a supermarket ready meal. It's convenient, it's fine, and it tastes exactly like everyone else's. Original content is a home cooked meal. The recipe might be simple, but the ingredients are yours: the story from last Tuesday, the customer's exact words, your opinion that goes against the grain, the number from your own dashboard. And the seasoning is yours too: your rhythm, your jokes, the rough edges you keep. AI can help you cook. But if you only give it supermarket ingredients, you'll get a ready meal.

Seven techniques

Here are seven techniques. One: feed it raw material only you have. Voice memos, anonymized customer messages, sales call quotes, your failures, behind the scenes details. Two: start with your opinion: my contrarian view is that most small brands post too often, defend it with my reasons. Three: demand specifics: replace every general claim with a specific example, number from my data, or story. Four: ban cliches explicitly, and ask the model to remove any sentence that could appear in any brand's post. Five: change the form: a list of mistakes, a text message conversation, a mini case study. Six: use AI for structure and critique, and write the key lines yourself. And seven: edit for rhythm. Read it aloud, vary sentence length, cut the throat clearing first sentence.

Example 1: the estate agent

Here's a before and after. A Dubai real estate agent's generic draft: looking for your dream home in Dubai? Our expert team is here to guide you through every step of your property journey. Unlock the door to your future. Now the prompt with raw material: last month I showed a family eleven villas before they chose the twelfth, because the kids' bedrooms got morning light. My view: most buyers over focus on the kitchen and under focus on commute time at seven thirty. Ban dream, journey, unlock and expert team. The result, after a light human edit: a family viewed eleven villas with me and picked number twelve, not for the kitchen, but because the kids' rooms got morning sun. Here's what I tell every buyer: drive the school run at seven thirty before you fall in love with a kitchen island. And the agent checks the anecdote doesn't identify the family.

Example 2: the accountant's shoebox

Another example, with illustrative details. A small business accountant in Manchester has a generic draft: in today's fast paced world, finding the right accountant can be a game changer for your small business journey. She adds raw material: a client who brought a shoebox of receipts and said, I think the tax office hates me, used with the client's permission, and a real detail: only eleven of the receipts actually mattered. The rewrite opens with the shoebox and the quote, explains that the problem wasn't the mess but not knowing which eleven receipts mattered, and ends with the list. No moral, no triplets, no game changer. It becomes her most saved post of the year.

Watch me do it

Let me do a raw material rewrite. The generic draft is for a bike repair shop in Leeds: we're passionate about keeping your bike in top condition, our expert team offers seamless service. I paste three pieces of raw material. A voice memo from the owner: I can tell what's wrong with a bike from the noise it makes coming through the door. An anonymized customer message: I thought I needed a new bike, you fixed it for the price of lunch. And a real number from the shop's records: most repairs take under an hour. I add the bans, no groups of three, no moral, and the final rule: remove any sentence that could appear in any other brand's post. The rewrite opens with the noise at the door. It's specific, it's true, and it sounds like the owner. I cut one line that still felt generic, and it's done.

AI for thinking, you for the words

Here's an approach many strong creators now use, and it's worth trying for a week. Use the assistant mainly for thinking: ask it for ten angles on a topic, a critique of your draft, or a tighter cut. But write the key lines yourself, especially the first line, which decides whether anyone reads on, and the last line, which is what they remember. The middle can be AI assisted and edited. You'll find that your content starts sounding like you again, and you'll still save most of the time AI was saving you before.

Never fake specificity

Now the line you must never cross. Fake specificity. Asking the AI to invent a customer story, a number or a testimonial to sound authentic is deception, and in advertising it can breach consumer protection rules. Use only true details, and get permission before sharing a customer's story or words. And don't over polish. Swapping one cliche for another isn't originality, and editing every rough edge away can erase your voice. Some imperfection is what makes content sound like a person wrote it.

Recap and try this now

Let's recap. Learn the tells of generic AI style: stock openers, overused words, triplets, vague benefits and neat morals. Your advantage is what the model can't know, so feed it raw material only you have, start with your opinion, demand specifics, ban cliches, change the form, use AI for thinking while you write the key lines, and edit for rhythm. And never fake specificity. Here's your try this now. Collect a voice memo, an anonymized customer message and a real number. Run the raw material rewrite from the lesson text on your most generic recent post, and for one week, write the first and last line of every post yourself.

Key takeaways

Generic AI style has tell-tale signs: stock openers, overused words, triplets, vague benefits and neat morals.
Feed raw material only you have: voice memos, anonymized customer words, opinions and real numbers.
Ban clichés explicitly, demand specifics, change the form, and edit for rhythm by reading aloud.
Never fake specificity: invented stories or numbers are deception; use only true, permitted details.

Try it

Take a generic AI draft, rewrite it using at least three of the seven techniques with only true details, and compare engagement if you publish it.