Have you ever noticed that ChatGPT tends to repeat certain words and phrases again and again? This repetition makes content sound robotic and unnecessarily dramatic. Most importantly, it can cause your content to be flagged as AI-generated.
For most of us creating content with AI, our goal is to mimic human-like conversation or writing because we don’t want our AI content detected as AI content. We create advanced prompts and try different techniques, but one effective strategy is to avoid ChatGPT’s overused words or “favorite” words.
ChatGPT’s Hidden Favorites
This is a fact: even though ChatGPT claims it doesn’t have a favorite set of words, most power users of ChatGPT can find discussions on Reddit and other communities that suggest otherwise. When generating content with ChatGPT, you’ll notice it sometimes repeats the same words again and again—words we might not use in our regular conversations.
The Solution: A Comprehensive List
I’ve compiled a huge list of words and phrases that ChatGPT tends to overuse—essentially its “favorite” vocabulary. By instructing ChatGPT to avoid these terms when creating content, you can make your AI-generated text sound much more human-like.
ChatGPT’s Favorite Words (Common Overused Words)
I’ve created an extensive list containing around 283 words that ChatGPT tends to use most often or overuse. Please note this isn’t a definitive or absolutely correct list. Some words I’ve mentioned might seem normal to you, and you might wonder, “Why shouldn’t I allow that?” It’s totally up to you which words you choose to avoid.
These words have been compiled based on my personal experience and discussions from various online communities, resources, and observations from AI content detectors.
ChatGPT’s Favorite Phrases (Common Overused Phrases)
Similar to the word list, I’ve also compiled approximately 335 phrases that are frequently overused by ChatGPT. These phrases sometimes aren’t even relevant to the content itself, but ChatGPT tries to use them to make the content sound more dramatic—something we often want to avoid as much as possible.
How to Use This List in Your Prompts
Here are two example prompts you can use with the list:
- Example Prompt 1: “When generating content, please follow this guideline. When you find any words or phrases in this particular list [insert list], always avoid them and rewrite with a different set of words or phrases.”
- Example Prompt 2: “Please avoid these list of words or phrases in your output text: [insert list]”
Try these prompts and see how the content sounds—whether it’s much easier to read or more human-like. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, and if you have any other suggestions, please let me know as well.
Why This Matters
The goal isn’t just to avoid AI detection—it’s about creating quality content that resonates with human readers. When ChatGPT falls into patterns of using the same terminology repeatedly, the content can feel mechanical and less engaging.
By instructing the AI to vary its language and avoid overused terms, you’re essentially teaching it to mimic the natural diversity present in human writing. This results in content that’s not only more likely to pass AI detection tools but is genuinely more pleasant to read.
The Complete Resource
The complete list of words and phrases is available at https://alstonantony.com/chatgpt-overused/. I’ve created this comprehensive resource by compiling discussions from various online communities, personal observations, and insights from AI content detection tools.
Final Thoughts
Creating human-like content with AI is an evolving art. As AI detection tools become more sophisticated, our approach to working with tools like ChatGPT must also become more nuanced. This list of words and phrases to avoid is just one strategy in a larger toolkit for creating natural-sounding AI content.
By being mindful of ChatGPT’s language patterns and steering it away from its “comfort zone” vocabulary, you can produce content that maintains the efficiency benefits of AI while preserving the natural feel of human writing.
Give these techniques a try in your next AI writing project, and see the difference for yourself!
