AI Workflow series · chapter 05 · tools
Paste what you're about to post. It says whether it reads like a person or like AI, and points at every phrase that gives it away.
Runs in your browser: the text never leaves this page. The same rules as Claude Code's pre-send check (email_voice_check.py), ported line for line and tested to give identical results on 56 cases.
Every time, before anything goes out, run the same five steps. It takes a minute and it's the whole job.
Paste the whole thing: a chat message, an email, an answer you're passing on, a draft.
Check what you post in your own name and what you post as Jonathan. A relayed answer counts: if you pasted it in from Claude, it's still going out under your name.
Set who it's from. Leave strict on.
Signing as yourself: untick "Sent as Jonathan". Going out as Jonathan: leave it ticked. "Jon will send it" above his own name is a dead giveaway. For someone who isn't technical: tick "For a non-technical reader" (and "It's a reply" for a reply).
Fix every line in the list. Say the plain version, or cut it.
A phrase in the list: say what you mean in everyday words, or delete it. "expanded forms": write don't, it's, I'm, the way people talk. A dash splitting a sentence: make it two sentences, or use a comma. A tidy three-part ending ("we planned, built, and shipped"): end on one plain fact instead. "X, the Y," explanations stacked mid-sentence: give the explanation its own sentence, or drop it.
Check it again. Post only when it says PASS.
The dash count shows even below the limit of 3. If the reader has already complained about dashes, rewrite every one it counts.
Then read it once as the person it's from. A pass only means it doesn't read as AI.
The check can't tell whether it's true, whether it's what Jonathan would say, or whether it answers what was asked. Those are still your read.
Two kinds of giveaway: words AI reaches for, and the shape it leaves even after the words are swapped.
furthermore · moreover · nevertheless · consequently · accordingly · thus, · hence, · as such, in conclusion · to summarize · that being said · needless to say · utilizing I would recommend · it is worth noting · it should be noted · one should consider
I hope this email finds you well · I wanted to reach out / touch base / circle back at your earliest convenience · please don't hesitate · rest assured · delve · tapestry a testament to · in today's fast-paced world · navigate the landscape · in the realm of when it comes to · not just X but Y · it's not about X, it's Y · unlock your potential elevate your · seamless
hedging: somewhat · relatively · appears to · seems to suggest · could potentially · it appears that praise: comprehensive · robust · impressive · commendable · noteworthy · exemplary · well-structured
"do not", "it is", "I am"... with none of don't, it's, I'm: 3 or more expanded and no contractions, or 5 or more with only one, is a signal.
A dash splitting a sentence, 3 or more times (the loudest single tell). A last sentence that's a chain of parallel verbs, or "then ..., then ...". Two or more "X, the Y," glosses packed mid-sentence. Contractions sprinkled at even intervals, the way scrubbed AI text has them. Three drafts (split by a line of ---) with the same shape. Any one of these lifts a PASS to a FLAG.
PASS 0-2 signals and none of the shape ones FLAG 3-4 signals, or any shape signal MAJOR FLAG 5 or more, or 3 shape signals FAIL strict and any signal at all, or any house rule broken House rules (always a fail): the sender named in the body; and, for a non-technical reader, over 350 words, an unexplained term (PR, repo, merge, deploy, API, DNS...), a reply with no > quotes.
A client said an update read "a bit AI-ish". This check is what came out of that, and every rule in it was earned the same way.
2026-07-24 first version: the words, then the shape 2026-08-21 house rules added: it had passed a 407-word, jargon-heavy draft that broke the reader's written rules three ways ("a rule that isn't measured isn't a rule") 2026-08-22 a FLAG stopped counting as a pass; a signature can't swallow the whole message 2026-09-17 the sender named in his own email ("Jon has the password", above his signature) 2026-10-05 ported to this page so an agent with only a browser can run it; "thus,", "hence," and "as such," now caught (they were missed when a space followed the comma)