Can AI Really Sound Human? A Test with ChatGPT

Key Takeaway: AI can help structure and refine content, but the heart of a well-loved article still comes from human emotion, authenticity, and connection. Use AI to enhance, not replace, the magic only you can bring.

Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I noticed a question in a ChatGPT group that made me stop and smile. Someone asked, “How can I use AI to humanize an AI-generated article?” There’s something ironic about it—asking a machine how to be more human. It’s like asking a GPS to find “the scenic route” instead of the fastest path.

The truth is, I understand why people ask. AI is convenient. It gets you from a blank page to a draft faster than ever, organizing thoughts and making suggestions. But there’s something that AI can’t do, something essential that we, as humans, bring to the table: warmth, emotion, personality. These are the elements that make words feel alive, the difference between saying, “It’s sunny” and describing how sunlight feels on your face after a long winter.

So, can you use AI alone to make content sound human? Maybe. But you’ll soon see it’s a little more complex than that.

Why Humanizing Content Matters

There’s a reason people crave humanized writing, especially in blogs, social media, and personal stories. People don’t just want facts—they want to feel like there’s a person behind those words who understands them. Take a blog post, for instance. You might be looking up a tutorial or reading about someone’s travel adventure, but what keeps you hooked is that feeling of connection, like the writer gets where you’re coming from. That’s why humanizing content isn’t just a nice touch; it’s essential. Peter Diamandis sums it up well, saying, “The real value of AI will be in its ability to empower humans to make better decisions faster.”

But not all content needs that touch. Some things, like product descriptions, technical specs, and FAQ pages, are about clarity and precision. They don’t need personality, just clarity. AI can manage these without much fuss, and humanizing might even feel out of place. But for other kinds of content—personal blogs, brand storytelling, or even ghostwritten pieces where the client expects authenticity—that’s where the human element matters.

The Challenge of Making AI Sound Human

Using AI to make writing feel human sounds simple in theory but quickly gets tricky in practice. I decided to test it by using ChatGPT to draft an article, then running it through Quillbot to measure how “human” it sounded. My goal was 0% on the AI detection scale, starting from an initial score of 86%. After eight rounds of tweaking language, breaking patterns, and creating rhythm, I finally got there. But it wasn’t just about swapping words here and there. Each round felt like chipping away at an overly polished statue, trying to bring out something imperfect, something real.

Interestingly, ChatGPT understands a prompt to “humanize” text and will try to comply, suggesting a conversational tone or altering structure. The real question, though, is: does it truly know what a humanized text looks like? Or is it just guessing based on patterns it’s been trained on and ultimately relying on what an AI detection tool will tell you? This is where things get nuanced. AI detection tools focus on two main factors—perplexity and burstiness. Perplexity measures how predictable the text is, and burstiness evaluates the variation in sentence length.

Consider this example:

AI Text (Low Perplexity, Low Burstiness):
"The dog ran quickly. It was a sunny day. The dog was happy."

Human Text (Higher Perplexity, Higher Burstiness):
"The dog, thrilled by the sunshine, dashed across the park, barking joyfully as it chased away the last bit of morning mist."

The human example feels real because of its rhythm and unpredictability. But this unpredictability isn’t just about fooling a detection tool; it’s about capturing the subtle essence of human expression—something ChatGPT might not fully grasp, even if it can mimic it on the surface.

How AI Can Support Humanized Writing

Interestingly, AI can still help with humanizing content—as long as it’s treated as a tool, not the whole solution. Think of it as a creative assistant. AI can provide structure, suggest tone adjustments, or break up repetitive language, but the final touches come from you. Gary Kasparov puts it well: “AI has the potential to enhance human creativity, by providing us with new tools and perspectives that we can use to generate ideas and solve problems.” It can give you ideas, but the voice, the feeling, still has to come from you.

When using AI to support humanized content, a few tips come in handy:

• Adjust Tone: If the writing feels too stiff, you can ask ChatGPT to make it sound more conversational, but follow up by adding personal touches to make it match your voice.

• Play with Structure: AI tends to use a predictable sentence structure, so mix it up by combining short and long sentences for natural flow.

• Add Emotion or Humor: If your content needs warmth or a smile, ask ChatGPT for ideas, but make the final choices yourself to keep the humor relatable and real.

Balancing EEAT, SEO, and Humanization in Web Content

Writing for the web, especially in blogs, involves more than just sounding human. Google’s EEAT principles—Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness—alongside SEO can sometimes make it challenging to keep that natural feel. For SEO, keywords and structure matter, but overloading on them can make content sound robotic. The key is balance.

Let’s say you’re writing a blog on “mindfulness practices for beginners.” Naturally weaving in keywords like “mindfulness tips” and “mindful breathing” while sharing personal experiences or relatable stories can meet EEAT and SEO standards while keeping the content engaging. A human touch doesn’t have to come at the cost of searchability. In fact, content that fulfills EEAT principles and feels authentic is what tends to rank well. Kasparov’s idea of AI enhancing creativity holds true here—AI can optimize for SEO, but the relatability, the realness, has to come from us.

The Power of Simplicity and Tone

One might think a straightforward style, like Hemingway’s direct approach, would fly under the AI radar. But simplicity alone isn’t enough to sound human. I tested this theory with a passage written in a minimalist style, expecting it to score low on AI detection. Here’s an example:

"Writing with AI is fast and clear, but something feels off. There’s a rhythm that doesn’t quite fit. Each word follows the next too perfectly, like it knows exactly where it’s going. It’s predictable. Too safe. When humans write, there’s thought and hesitation. It feels real."

Surprisingly, this passage still scored 74% on AI detection. It turns out that predictability, even in simple language, is a dead giveaway. Human writing has a rhythm that AI struggles with, a blend of deliberate choices and unexpected turns.

So, Can You Fully Humanize AI Content?

In short, yes—but it’s not easy. Making AI-written content sound human requires simplifying language, avoiding overly structured patterns, and adding a natural rhythm. For content that needs polish, like formal articles or client projects, hitting that 0% AI detection score can be tough. And then there’s the question: Who are you humanizing for? For readers, low detection isn’t usually the main goal—it’s about authenticity, connection. As Ernst Fischer notes, “imperfection is the greatness of man.” AI can mimic, but it can’t feel.

Conclusion: The Human Touch Always Wins

The question of humanizing AI content is one that will keep coming up. But as I learned through testing, experimenting, and rewriting, the answer is clear. AI is a powerful ally in the writing process, offering structure, suggestions, and even inspiration. But the heart of writing—the spark, the personality, the feeling that draws people in—is something only we can bring.

So next time you’re crafting a piece, remember that AI is the assistant, not the artist. Let it support your work, but bring your own voice, your stories, your unique touch. Because ultimately, that’s what readers connect with: the human behind the words.