AI words and punctuation to avoid: the full list

Here is the measured reason this list matters more than any punctuation fix. On the checker’s built-in AI-style sample, a mechanical dash pass cuts the pattern score from 96 to 68 — and leaves every one of the 14 catalogue terms untouched. Vocabulary is the residue that survives cleanup, which is why this page exists separately from the dash tools.

Every word below is real English and appears in good writing. What makes the list useful is the ratio: models produce these at many times the rate of a human first draft, and several of them (delve, tapestry, meticulous) are close to diagnostic when they cluster.

• delveAlmost never survives a human first draft. Use dig into, look at, examine.
• tapestryThe archetypal AI metaphor. Say mix, range, web, or just name the things.
• testament"A testament to" is a stock phrase. Say shows, proves, is evidence of.
• realmVague and grand. Name the actual field: finance, teaching, hardware.
• landscapeAs in "the marketing landscape". Say market, industry, or the specific thing.
• leverageCorporate filler when used as a verb. Say use.
• utilizeNever better than use. It only makes the sentence longer.
• seamlessUnverifiable marketing adjective. Describe what actually happens instead.
• robustMeans nothing without a number. Say what it survives and for how long.
• meticulousTell-by-adjective. Give the detail that proves the care.
• intricateTogether with tapestry and meticulous, a pure AI cluster.
• vibrantEmpty praise. Name the colour, the sound, the crowd.
• crucialOverused intensifier. Say why it matters and to whom.
• vitalSame problem as crucial. Prefer required, or the consequence.
• pivotalAlmost always replaceable with a date and a fact.
• paramountFormal filler. Say the most important thing is, then name it.
• navigateAs in "navigate the complexities". Say handle, work through, deal with.
• underscoreAs a verb meaning emphasise. Say shows, makes clear.
• fosterAs in "foster collaboration". Say build, encourage, or describe the mechanism.
• facilitateAlmost always hides a simpler verb. Say run, host, help, let.
• bolsterSay strengthen, or better, say by how much.
• garnerSay got, earned, won.
• bolsteringA variant that survives most human edits. Same fix as bolster.
• myriadSay many, or give the number.
• plethoraSay too many, or the actual count.
• multifacetedSay complex, or list the parts.
• holisticJargon. Say complete, whole, or describe the scope.
• synergyBusiness cliché with no measurable meaning.
• paradigmSay model, pattern, or approach.
• ecosystemOnly correct for biology. Otherwise say group, market, set of tools.
• revolutionizeSay changed, or say what changed and when.
• transformativeSame as revolutionize. Prefer before-and-after.
• game-changerGive the concrete consequence instead.
• cutting-edgeSay the version number, the date, or the capability.
• state-of-the-artSame. Say what it does that others cannot.
• unparalleledUnsupportable superlative.
• unwaveringUsually attached to commitment. Say what was actually done.
• commendableTell-by-adjective. Show the thing that deserves praise.
• noteworthyIf it were noteworthy you would not need to say so.
• profoundEmpty intensifier. Say the effect.
• nuancedUsually claims depth without providing it.
• ever-evolvingA model favourite. Say what changed in the last year.
• fast-pacedAs in "in today's fast-paced world". Delete the clause entirely.
• ever-changingSame as ever-evolving.
• empowerSay let, allow, or give someone the ability to.
• unlockAs in "unlock potential". Say what becomes possible.
• elevateAs in "elevate your brand". Say improve, and by what measure.
• embarkSay start, begin.
• embark onSame. "Embark on a journey" is a template, not a sentence.
• journeyMetaphorical use only. Real travel is fine.
• adventureRarely literal outside travel writing.
• treasure troveSay collection, archive, set.
• cornerstoneSay basis, foundation, or the specific dependency.
• bustlingA model-only adjective. Name the street and the hour.
• gleamingSame pattern. Describe light, not the cliché.
• whisperingSame pattern. Say what made the sound.
• nestledTravel-writing AI signature. Give coordinates or a landmark.
• stunningSay what you actually see.
• breathtakingSame.
• dauntingSay what specifically is hard.
• meticulouslyAdverb form of meticulous. Cut it or prove it.
• effortlesslyUnverifiable. Say the step count or the time taken.
• arguablyHedges a claim the writer should just make or drop.
• essentiallyFiller. Cut.
• ultimatelyOften filler. Keep only when it marks a real conclusion.
• notablyFiller transition. Cut or replace with the fact.
• importantlyIf it matters, the reader will see it.
• significantlyNeeds a number or an effect size to mean anything.
• substantiallySame. Quantify.
• remarkableTell-by-adjective.
• invaluableSay what it saved, or what it enabled.
• proactiveSay what was done before what problem.
• actionableCorporate filler. Say the action.
• impactfulNot a real word in most style guides. Say effective, or the effect.
• innovativeSay what is new about it.
• dynamicSay what changes and how fast.
• comprehensiveSay what is covered, or it means nothing.
• streamlineSay which steps were removed.
• optimizeSay the metric and the direction.
• harnessSay use.
• diveAs in "let's dive in". Cut the announcement.
• exploreCareful: fine as a verb of inquiry, tell-tale when it opens a section.
• illuminateSay shows, explains, clarifies.
• encapsulateSay sums up, captures.
• encompassSay includes, covers.
• juxtaposeSay compare, contrast.
• resonateSay people responded, or how.
• reverberateSay the effect and its duration.
• flourishSay grew, spread, or give the figure.
• thriveSame.
• showcaseSay show, demonstrate, display.
• illuminatingTell-by-adjective on a finding.
• profoundlyEmpty intensifier.
• infinitelyAlmost always hyperbole.
• undeniablyIf it were undeniable you would not need the adverb.
• unquestionablySame.
• trulyUsually deletable.
• genuinelyUsually deletable.

These carry more signal per word than any single adjective, because they are structural. "It's not just X, it's Y" is close to a fingerprint, and it is the first entry for a reason.

• it's not just X, it's YThe single most recognisable AI template. Rewrite as a plain claim.
• not only X but also YCorrect English, machine frequency. Split into two sentences.
• it's worth noting thatCut the frame and state the note.
• it is important to note thatIf it were important, saying so would not help.
• in today's fast-paced worldDelete. Every time.
• in today's digital ageDelete.
• in an era ofSay the year, or the specific shift.
• when it comes toUsually replaceable with about or for.
• at the end of the dayCliché. Cut.
• the key takeaway isSay the takeaway.
• let's dive inCut the announcement and start.
• let's exploreSame.
• without further adoSame.
• buckle upSame.
• here's the thingFine once. Repeated, it is a tic.
• the bottom lineSay the line.
• delve intoSee delve.
• a testament toSay shows.
• plays a crucial roleSay which role, and how you know.
• plays a vital roleSame.
• plays a significant roleSame, and quantify significant.
• serves as aUsually just is.
• stands as aUsually just is.
• is designed toSay what it does, not what it was designed to do.
• aims toSame. State the outcome.
• seamlessly integratesSay which systems, and what the user has to do (usually nothing).
• unlock the potentialSay the capability.
• take it to the next levelSay the level.
• in conclusionIn essays it is required; in web copy, cut it.
• in summaryCut unless it is genuinely a summary section.
• to sum upSame.
• overall,Filler opener. Cut.
• that said,Fine occasionally. Constant use is a tic.
• moreoverStiff and machine-frequent. Use also, or start the sentence with the fact.
• furthermoreSame.
• additionallySame.
• in addition toSame.
• on the other handSay but, or just say the contrast.
• as we can seeRemove; the reader can see.
• it goes without sayingThen do not say it.
• needless to saySame.
• the world ofAs in "the world of finance". Say finance.
• navigate the complexitiesSay handle the paperwork, or name the hard part.
• a wide range ofGive the range.
• a variety ofGive the variety.
• variousSay which ones.
• whether you're a X or a YAudience-flattering template. Name the reader you actually serve.
• look no furtherMarketing filler.
• in the ever-evolving landscapeDelete.
• the fact thatUsually deletable: "the fact that it rained" → "that it rained".
• due to the fact thatSay because.
• in order toSay to.
• prior toSay before.
• subsequent toSay after.
• a myriad ofSay many.

Punctuation is the most visible layer and the only one you can fix mechanically — the dash tools remove the whole dash family in one pass. The characters below are labelled with how much weight each actually deserves, because most carry very little on their own.

• —Em dashU+2014The headline tell, and the most misleading one. Models use it as an all-purpose connector, but plenty of humans type it deliberately. Overuse is the signal, not the character.
• –En dashU+2013Rarely typed by hand outside publishing. In an AI draft it usually arrives where a hyphen or the word "to" belongs.
• —Spaced em dashU+2014The British-style " — " with spaces both sides is what models emit most often, because it reads cleanly regardless of the surrounding style.
• --Double hyphenU+002D U+002DThe ASCII fallback. Common in older human writing too, so treat it as a weak signal on its own.
• …Ellipsis characterU+2026The single-glyph ellipsis is more common in model output than the three-dot version, which most keyboards produce.
• “ ”Curly quotesU+201C U+201DSmart quotes are correct typography. On their own they mean nothing; in bulk they suggest text that was generated, not typed.
• ’Curly apostropheU+2019Same reasoning as curly quotes. Strongly depends on where the text was pasted from.
• §Section signU+00A7Legal-writing tell. Models use it far more than the people drafting contracts.
• →ArrowU+2192Very common in model formatting for before/after and cause/effect, uncommon in ordinary prose.
• •Bullet characterU+2022Not a tell by itself. A bullet anywhere a sentence would do is a structural tell.
• ✓Check markU+2713Appears in model-generated summaries and checklists far more than in typing.
• ‑Non-breaking hyphenU+2011Copied out of PDFs and generated documents. Invisible difference, breaks search and sort.

A vocabulary swap does not fix a document that is shaped like a model wrote it. The structural habits — uniform sentence length, announced structure, the summary ending — are the strongest signals there are, and this page is deliberately not their home: they are ranked and explained in the complete signs list, which is a structure-first document. Here they exist as the short checklist that closes a vocabulary pass, since the checker reports both.

Three ways to apply the list, in increasing order of reliability:

1. Read it before you edit. Ten minutes with the phrase list will catch most of what a draft is doing wrong.
2. Paste it into your agent instructions. The raw Markdown file is formatted for CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or a Cursor rules file, so drafting stops introducing the patterns in the first place.
3. Run the checker on the finished text. The local AI-tell checker reports which entries actually appear, with counts, and never uploads anything.