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Small Business Casual: Content Marketing, Productivity, Customer Experience for Entrepreneurs & Creators

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Small Business Casual: Content Marketing, Productivity, Customer Experience for Entrepreneurs & Creators

AI "Tells" & What They're Costing Us

July 07, 2026 • Emily Aborn

0:00 | 26:30

Text Emily!

"It's not X, it's Y", the rhetorical "honestly?" and oh, the em-dashes!

The overt tells and... the little gut feelings when you suspect AI... what are they costing us?

When our readers and listeners' spidey senses go up, when their AI radar is activated, it can quietly cost you their trust. Which means it can also cost you business.

In this episode, I walk through 10 AI "Tells" and why they matter. I also give you permission NOT to overthink and scrape your copy clean of all of them because there are always two sides to the coin.

At the end of the day: You don't prove you're human by deleting em dashes, stopping your overuse of adverbs, and stripping out the Oxford commas.

You prove it by being the version of you that can't be faked. Stop asking "how do I avoid looking like AI and instead, start asking "how do I sound unmistakably like me!?

Resources & Links:
The Atlantic - Why AI Is Incorrigibly Didactic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/ai-writing-style-literature/687536/

Forbes - The 7 Deadly Tells of AI Writing https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2025/06/12/the-seven-tells-of-ai-writing/

Joe Casabona - 3 Signs You've Got AI Brain Rot (and How to Prevent It) https://streamlinedsolopreneur.com/ai-brain-rot/

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Emily Aborn is a Small Business Copywriter and the host of Small Business Casual, with 12+ years of copywriting experience across 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence.

Got a question for me or an idea for the show? Email me at emily@emilyaborn.com.

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