AI-Generated Text Sounds Clunky? This Simple Phrase Will Fix It.

AI-generated text is often recognizable, using signature wording and grammatical structures. In my search for a small, easy-to-remember instruction to improve the flow of the outputs, I've found that the phrase "Use B2-level English with only essential adjectives " improves the sound of AI-generated outputs.

This short instruction consistently produced clear, approachable, and natural writing in my tests.

Of the models tested, GPT-4.5-preview and o3-mini provided the most natural-sounding outputs. Other models like o1-preview, Claude 3.7, and Gemini Pro occasionally produced more stiff writing. Grok 3 was indifferent to stylistic instructions, consistently ignoring the instruction to limit adjective use.

My recommendation is to always review and edit AI-generated content, even when using optimized prompts. AI-generated text provides an excellent starting draft, but adding your personal touch remains essential unless you want your instructions to be as detailed as the requested text.

If you’re interested in learning more about the prompts, guidance phrases, and outputs from this exercise, you can read further details in the relevant article I published on Medium.