If you are using AI to write marketing content and you do not have a banned words list, your copy is outing itself. Every paragraph screams “machine-generated” to anyone who reads more than three AI-written articles a week — which, at this point, is most of your audience. The fix takes 15 minutes. Build a banned words list, paste it into your context window before every writing session, and watch the robotic sheen disappear from your output.
I maintain banned words lists for every client I work with. Not a generic list I copy-paste across projects — each one is customized to the industry, the brand voice, and the specific AI clichés that keep infecting their content. But the core structure is the same. And that structure is what separates a useful banned words list from a random collection of words you dislike.
Why a Simple List Is Not Enough
Most banned words lists floating around Reddit and Twitter are flat. A hundred words in a bullet list. “Don’t use delve. Don’t use landscape. Don’t use tapestry.” Fine. But that approach fails for two reasons.
- First, it treats all bad words the same. “Delve” is a different kind of problem than “In today’s fast-paced world.” One is a single word the AI over-selects. The other is a structural opening pattern that signals “this was auto-generated” before the reader finishes the first sentence. They need different fixes.
- Second, a flat list tells you what to remove but not what to replace it with. If you ban “moreover” and the AI just switches to “furthermore,” you have not solved anything. You have traded one robotic connector for another.
What you need is a taxonomy. Categories of banned language, each with a constraint instruction and a replacement bank. That is what I build for clients, and that is what I am sharing here.
Category 1: Throat-Clearing Starters
These are the opening phrases AI uses to ease into a topic. They add zero information. They exist because the model is predicting a “safe” start before it gets to the actual content. Readers skim past them. Google’s helpful content signals penalize them.
| Banned Starter | Why It Fails | Human Alternative |
| In today’s fast-paced world… | Vague, timeless, says nothing specific | Open with a specific fact, question, or scenario |
| It’s no secret that… | Pre-announces the obvious | State the point directly |
| When it comes to [topic]… | Filler that delays the real sentence | Start with the real sentence |
| In the ever-evolving landscape of… | Triple AI signal: ever-evolving + landscape + of | Name the specific change you are referencing |
| Have you ever wondered… | Patronizing rhetorical question | Make your claim. Skip the warmup. |
| Let’s face it… | Assumes agreement before making the argument | Present the evidence. Let the reader agree on their own. |
The prompt constraint I paste into every context window for this category:
“Never open a paragraph with a generic transitional phrase. Start every paragraph with either a specific claim, a data point, a question that the paragraph immediately answers, or a short declarative sentence under 8 words.”
Category 2: Empty Amplifiers
These are adjectives and adverbs the AI inserts to make sentences feel “stronger” without adding meaning. They are the written equivalent of someone raising their voice because their argument is weak.
| Banned Word | What the AI Thinks It Does | What It Actually Does |
| Truly | Adds emphasis | Signals the writer has nothing specific to say |
| Incredibly | Amplifies the claim | Reads as hype without evidence |
| Remarkably | Sounds sophisticated | Tells the reader nothing new |
| Extremely | Intensifies | Makes the sentence weaker, not stronger |
| Undeniably | Pre-empts disagreement | Sounds defensive |
| Significantly | Implies data | Means nothing without a number attached |
| Absolutely | Total agreement | Filler. Cut it. |
The fix is specific. When you want emphasis, use a number. “Significantly faster” means nothing. “3.2x faster” means something. Every time the AI reaches for an amplifier, it is covering for a missing fact.
Prompt constraint: “Do not use empty amplifiers (truly, incredibly, remarkably, extremely, significantly, absolutely, undeniably). If a claim needs emphasis, support it with a specific metric, example, or comparison instead.”
Category 3: Hedge Words and Weasel Phrases
AI hedges constantly. It has been trained to avoid definitive statements because definitive statements can be wrong. The result is copy that sounds uncertain about everything, even things the brand should be confident about.
| Banned Phrase | The Problem | Direct Replacement |
| It’s important to note that… | If it is important, just say it | Drop the preamble. State the fact. |
| It’s worth mentioning… | Self-referential filler | Mention it. Skip the announcement. |
| Experts suggest… | Which experts? This is unverifiable | Name the source or cut the claim |
| Studies show… | Which studies? Link or remove | Cite the specific study or rewrite as your own observation |
| It can be argued that… | Passive, non-committal | Argue it. Take a stance. |
| Some may find… | Avoids ownership | State who finds it and why |
| In many cases… | How many? Which cases? | Specify the condition |
I burned myself on this one early in my career. I sent a client a batch of AI-generated blog posts that were riddled with “studies show” and “experts suggest” — none of which cited actual sources. The client’s editor flagged every instance. Embarrassing, but it taught me to hard-ban vague attribution.
Prompt constraint: “Never attribute a claim to unnamed experts, unspecified studies, or vague authorities. Either cite a specific source or present the claim as your own professional observation based on direct experience.”
Category 4: AI Signature Phrases
These are the words that have become so tightly associated with AI output that their presence alone triggers reader suspicion. Some of these were perfectly normal words before 2023. ChatGPT ruined them.
| Banned Word/Phrase | AI Frequency | Human Usage | Replacement |
| Delve | Extremely high | Almost never in casual/professional writing | Look at, examine, dig into, explore |
| Landscape | Very high (as metaphor) | Rare outside of actual geography | Market, space, situation, field |
| Tapestry | High (as metaphor) | Almost never in nonfiction | Mix, combination, range |
| Leverage (as verb) | Extremely high | Common in corporate speak, rare in normal speech | Use, apply, rely on |
| Streamline | High | Overused even before AI | Simplify, speed up, cut steps from |
| Robust | Very high | Common in engineering, rare elsewhere | Strong, thorough, detailed |
| Seamless | Very high | Overused in SaaS marketing | Smooth, easy, without friction |
| Pivotal | High | Normal word, but AI overuses it | Important, critical, key |
| Cornerstone | High | Felt natural before, now flags AI | Foundation, base, core |
| Paradigm | Moderate | Academic, rarely used in marketing | Model, approach, framework |
Prompt constraint: “Do not use any of these words: delve, landscape (as metaphor), tapestry, leverage, streamline, robust, seamless, pivotal, cornerstone, paradigm. If you need a similar concept, use the plain-English alternative.”
Category 5: Robotic Connectors and Transitions
AI loves formal transitions. Furthermore. Moreover. Consequently. Subsequently. Indeed. These words are not wrong. But when every paragraph pivots on the same set of connectors, the text reads like a term paper, not a blog post a human would choose to read.
| Banned Connector | Human-Sounding Alternatives |
| Furthermore | Plus, Also, And, On top of that |
| Moreover | What’s more, Beyond that, And here’s the thing |
| Consequently | So, Because of this, The result |
| Subsequently | Then, After that, Next |
| Indeed | Drop it entirely. The sentence is stronger without it. |
| In conclusion | So where does this leave you? / The bottom line / Here’s what matters |
| It is worth noting | Cut it. Just note the thing. |
| As such | So, Because of that, This means |
| In essence | Basically, At its core, Put simply |
Prompt constraint: “Do not use formal academic transitions (furthermore, moreover, consequently, subsequently, indeed, as such, in essence). Use conversational connectors or restructure the sentence so no transition is needed.”
Category 6: Corporate Buzzword Verbs
These verbs sound important but communicate nothing specific. They are the verbal equivalent of a firm handshake from someone who has nothing to say.
| Banned Verb | What People Actually Mean | Better Alternative |
| Utilize | Use | Use |
| Facilitate | Help, run, organize | Name the specific action |
| Optimize | Improve, fix, adjust | Describe what changes |
| Synergize | Work together, combine | Explain the specific collaboration |
| Empower | Give tools/options/access to | Name what you are giving |
| Navigate | Figure out, manage, deal with | Describe the specific challenge |
| Catalyze | Start, trigger, cause | Use the simpler verb |
Prompt constraint: “Replace all corporate buzzword verbs with plain-English alternatives. Prefer concrete verbs that describe specific actions over abstract verbs that describe categories of action.”
How to Implement This in Your Workflow
Do not just read this list and hope you remember it. Build a reusable document.
- Copy the six category tables into a single document. Title it “Banned Words — [Your Brand Name].”
- Add your own industry-specific clichés. Every field has them. In SaaS, it’s “end-to-end solution.” In real estate, it’s “turnkey.” In fitness, it’s “transformative journey.” Find yours.
- Paste the entire document into the context window at the start of every AI writing session. Put it before your prompt, not after.
- Include all six prompt constraints at the bottom of the document. The AI reads them as hard rules.
- Update quarterly. New AI clichés emerge as models update. “Foster” and “curate” are climbing the list fast.
The Words I Am Watching for 2026
AI vocabulary shifts as models retrain. The words that were obvious AI signals in 2024 are partly fixed in newer models, but new patterns replace them. Here is what I am adding to client lists right now:
| Emerging AI Tell | Why It Is Flagging | Status |
| Foster | Used 8x–10x more by AI than by human writers | Add to banned list |
| Curate / Curated | Everything is “curated” now | Add to banned list |
| Resonate | “This will resonate with your audience” — AI loves this | Watch list |
| Holistic | AI uses it to mean “complete” when simpler words work | Add to banned list |
| Ecosystem | Used metaphorically for everything | Watch list |
| Actionable | Overused to the point of meaninglessness | Watch list |
What Happens After You Implement the List
The first thing you notice is shorter paragraphs. When you strip out the throat-clearing starters and empty amplifiers, the padding disappears. What remains is the actual content. The substance.
The second thing: your copy starts sounding specific. Without hedge words, the AI is forced to commit to statements. Without amplifiers, it reaches for data. Without robotic connectors, it restructures sentences to flow naturally.
A banned words list is not about restricting the AI. It is about forcing it to do better work. Every banned word is a crutch the model leans on when it does not have enough context or specific enough instructions. Remove the crutch, and the output either improves or exposes the gaps in your context package — both of which are outcomes you want.
Build the list. Paste it in. Keep it updated. Your readers will notice the difference even if they cannot articulate why. And Google’s algorithms will notice too.
