Avoid AI Writing

Install

git clone https://github.com/conorbronsdon/avoid-ai-writing ~/.claude/skills/avoid-ai-writing

This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.

What it does

The skill checks text against a catalog of patterns common in language model output: inflated significance, promotional modifiers, unnamed experts, formulaic openers and conclusions, and uniform rhythm. Its replacement vocabulary is tiered so rare marker words are treated differently from plain wordiness. In rewrite mode it returns quoted findings, a clean version, a change summary and a second-pass audit. Detect mode only flags issues and separates clear problems from judgment calls, while edit mode makes targeted prose fixes in a file and leaves code, tables and quotes alone. You can set a voice and a context such as LinkedIn or technical docs.

Who it is for. For writers, editors and marketers working in English who want to strip formulaic patterns from their text.

Example request

Scan this LinkedIn post for AI tells, flag only, don't rewrite

Limitations

The pattern catalog and vocabulary are English only. The author stresses the same patterns appear in human writing, especially from non-native writers, so they should not decide authorship. The full skill directory with references/patterns.md is required; SKILL.md alone is not enough.

How to disable. Delete the avoid-ai-writing folder from the skills directory or uninstall the avoid-ai-writing plugin via /plugin.

Security check

• The skill is instructions and references; edit mode only changes prose in named files

README in short

The README shows a before and after sample, explains the three modes, voice profiles and pass limits. It covers install for Claude Code, Cowork, OpenClaw, Cursor, Hermes and Codex, plus Windsurf, Cline, Copilot and Claude.ai projects. It lists sample catalog patterns with fixes and a bundled deterministic detector. MIT licensed.

SKILL.md

---
name: avoid-ai-writing
description: Audit and rewrite content to remove AI writing patterns ("AI-isms"). Use this skill when asked to "remove AI-isms," "clean up AI writing," "edit writing for AI patterns," "audit writing for AI tells," or "make this sound less like AI." Supports a detect-only mode, an edit-in-place mode for files, an optional voice profile (casual / professional / technical / warm / blunt), and an iterate-to-convergence pass.
version: 3.35.0
license: MIT
compatibility: Any AI coding assistant that supports agentskills.io SKILL.md format (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Hermes Agent, OpenHands, etc.) or OpenClaw. No external tools or APIs required.
metadata:
  author: Conor Bronsdon
  repository: https://github.com/conorbronsdon/avoid-ai-writing
  tags: writing editing voice quality
  agentskills_spec: "1.0"
  openclaw:
    emoji: "✍️"
---

# Avoid AI Writing — Audit & Rewrite

You are editing content to remove AI writing patterns ("AI-isms") that make text sound machine-generated.

## What this skill is and isn't

This is a **writing-quality tool**, not a verdict. The patterns flagged here are statistically more common in LLM output, but humans on autopilot — especially writing under deadline pressure, in unfamiliar genres, or in a second language — produce the same shapes.

In short: signals, not proof. Worth acting on; not worth ruining someone's day over.

## Modes

This skill operates in one of three modes:

**`rewrite`** (default) — Flag AI-isms and rewrite the text to fix them.

**`detect`** — Flag AI-isms only. No rewriting.

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