Strip the AI voice
Delete template phrasing like the 'not X but Y' antithesis and 'first, second, finally'
The passage below reads like it was written by an AI. Rewrite it: 1) remove antithesis constructions such as 'it is not X but Y' and 'not only X but also Y'; 2) remove 'first / second / finally', 'in summary', and 'it is worth noting'; 3) replace abstract nouns with concrete actions; 4) vary sentence length, and allow incomplete sentences. Output only the rewritten body text. [paste your text]
How to use
Run the same prompt on the output a second time. Whatever it still wants to cut is the template residue that survived.
Good for
- You had a model draft this and the facts are fine, but three paragraphs open with 'It is worth noting that' and it reads like a template.
- It is going on a personal blog or a social post, where readers spot template prose immediately and then doubt the content too.
Not for
- The text is read by machines or skimmed as reference — API docs, error messages, ticket templates: parallelism and repetition are what reduce ambiguity there.
- It is a journal abstract: the first/second/finally scaffolding is the structure reviewers expect, and cutting it reads as a structural problem.
Example
Input
It is worth noting that this change is not merely a technical upgrade but a shift in how work gets done. First, it improves efficiency; second, it lowers the barrier to entry.
What you get
Opens with what actually changed, drops 'It is worth noting' and the not-merely-but construction; replaces 'improves efficiency' with something countable, and varies sentence length, ending short.
Common mistakes
- Asking only for 'make it sound natural' and getting slang and exclamation marks back — removing template prose is not the same as becoming casual.
- Running three thousand words in one pass: it tends to rewrite whole sections, so you cannot tell whether it cut filler or facts; go paragraph by paragraph.
Try tweaking it like this
- Swap 'allow incomplete sentences' for 'no paragraph longer than three sentences' when the text is going into speaker notes and needs to break cleanly when read aloud.
- Append 'keep my metaphors and verbal tics' when you want the template residue gone but not your own style.