Content creation is increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. At EditorNinja, we’ve seen our work shift from 80% human-created in 2022 to 80%+ AI-generated thus far in 2025.
While AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai can produce grammatically sound and semantically accurate writing at scale, they often fall short of delivering the nuance, emotional depth, and authentic voice that human readers crave. Even if humans can’t put words to their feelings, humans also know when they’re reading AI-generated content. It just feels…a bit off.
This is where humanizing AI content comes in.
This guide will show you how to humanize AI content effectively using proven techniques and tools to enhance readability, increase audience engagement, and improve SEO performance.
These are the steps our own editors use when editing the AI content that our clients bring us. Since 2022, we’ve edited 7,000,000+ words of AI content, focusing on fact checking, phrasing, tone and voice, statistics, and more.
Have AI content that needs humanizing? Let’s chat about it.
What Does “Humanizing AI Text” Mean?
Humanized AI content refers to text that was originally generated by artificial intelligence and has been edited or rewritten by a human so it reads as if a person fully wrote it from the start.
We believe that all AI content should be humanized or, at minimum, edited by a human. Otherwise, it may not rank as well in Google, may not convert as well as content written by a human, and may become a brand risk rather than a brand builder.
Characteristics of Humanized Content:
AI content doesn’t sing. It tells. So, humanized AI content has all of these characteristics:
- Varied sentence structure
- Emotional resonance
- Real-world references
- Cultural and contextual awareness
- Authentic voice
Why It Matters:
- Trust: 68% of consumers are more likely to trust content that feels authentic and relatable (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2023).
- SEO: Google’s Helpful Content Update rewards content that demonstrates experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT).
- Engagement: Humanized text increases time-on-page and reduces bounce rates by keeping readers interested.
Why Converting AI to Human Text Matters
Humanizing AI content isn’t just about style. The outcomes matter too.
| Metric | Standard AI Text | Humanized AI Text |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. Time on Page | 0:45 | 2:10 |
| Bounce Rate | 68% | 41% |
| Conversion Rate | 0.9% | 2.4% |
| Reader Trust (surveyed) | 37% | 74% |
(Source: HubSpot, 2024; Content Marketing Institute, 2023)
Humanized AI content can:
- Improve SEO ranking
- Build trust with your audience
- Reflect your unique brand voice
- Enhance conversion rates across digital campaigns
As you can see in the table above, humans trust humanized AI text TWICE as much as un-humanized AI text. That in and of itself should be a strong argument for humanizing your AI content each and every time.
Steps to Transform AI Text into Natural Writing
1. Refine Grammar and Syntax
AI often uses repetitive, overly formal phrasing. To fix this, you can:
- Break up long sentences.
- Replace robotic connectors (e.g., “Furthermore”) with conversational ones (e.g., “So,” “Plus,” “That said”).
- Vary sentence length and structure. Humans write sentences that vary.
Example:
- AI Text: “In conclusion, it is important to note that customer satisfaction is vital.”
- Humanized: “Happy customers are everything; without them, your business doesn’t stand a chance.”
2. Adjust Tone and Style
Match the tone to your audience, and more importantly, match the tone to the rest of your content that you’ve produced previously. Consider areas like:
- Use contractions (e.g., “you’re” instead of “you are”)
- Swap technical terms for simpler language where appropriate
- Mirror the way your brand speaks in other channels
Example Tones:
- Corporate: “We provide industry-leading solutions.”
- Casual: “We help you get results fast.”
By the way, copy editing still applies to AI content here. Part of copy editing is clarifying tone and voice, as well as consistency of grammar and punctuation.
3. Add Personal Examples and Stories
Personal examples and stories, or the lack thereof, are a tell-tale sign that content was spat out of an AI tool and not created or edited by a human.
Remember, readers connect with people, not machines.
You can enhance AI output with:
- Anecdotes or analogies
- Case studies or testimonials
- Personal experiences
Example: Instead of saying “Regular posting boosts engagement,” say, “When I started publishing twice weekly, traffic to my blog doubled in 60 days.”
4. Confirm Accuracy and Consistency
AI loves to give “facts,” as in things that sound true but are entirely made up. While AI has improved and hallucinates less in 2025 than it did in 2023, you should still always:
- Cross-check statistics
- Check quote sources
- Clarify vague references
5. Optimize Keywords Naturally
If writing for SEO, AI can use too many keywords in a way that doesn’t flow or read naturally. After all, the best SEO content is content that doesn’t seem like it was written for SEO, because it provides the complete picture of a topic.
To humanize and optimize AI content simultaneously:
- Avoid keyword stuffing
- Use synonyms and semantic variants
- Fit keywords naturally into the text
Example Keyword Insert:
“If you’re looking for the best AI humanizer tool, it helps to test several AI-to-human text converters first.”
Which Tools and Methods Help Humanize AI Writing?
There are three potential approaches to humanizing AI text. Of course, we prefer the third option because it is a good blend of machines, which can do anything, and trained humans who have taste and experience to produce content that feels not only human but polished.
1. AI to Human Text Converters
Here are 4 tools that we’ve used, and others recommend as well, to improve your AI text. Like any other tool, they still need a human to operate them and make judgments, as they’ll sometimes recommend wrong things for your specific use case.
| Tool | Free Plan | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quillbot | Yes | Rephrasing sentences | Fast and intuitive |
| Wordtune | Yes | Tone adjustment | Offers casual and formal tones |
| Grammarly | Yes | Clarity and engagement | Great for grammar + style |
| HumanizeAI | Yes | AI detection bypass | Optimized to pass detection tools |
2. Manual Editing Strategies
Alongside tools, some manual editing strategies include:
- Reading the text aloud to hear where the language feels stunted or too wordy.
- Using Hemingway Editor or Slick Write for sentence variety and to improve readability.
- Rewriting paragraphs for rhythm and transitions.
3. Hybrid Approaches with Editors and Tools
Lots of teams use a hybrid approach to creating and then optimizing content. The most common approach is to use AI for ideation, getting feedback on ideas and strategies, creating briefs that humans then review, and then initial drafting before a human takes the handoff to then:
- Add tone and voice
- Build narrative
- Ensure accuracy
- Make the content feel like something a human would want to read and then take action from.
How to Pass AI Detection Without Losing Authenticity
AI detection tools like Originality.ai and GPTZero can flag machine-written content. To be clear, these tools are only directionally correct in detecting AI vs non-AI content, and I don’t believe they should be used to “check” a freelancer or other content producer’s writing to try to “catch” them. We should assume that AI is being used and judge the content on its own merits, or if we think it will convert readers to buyers.
That said, to ethically pass AI detection tools, or even just a human reading the piece:
- Use tools like Humanizer.ai to adjust syntax and tone to appear more human.
- Blend AI text with genuine, human-driven insights by adding personal takes, niche expertise, or customer examples. Remember to provide commentary, not just summaries.
- Monitor readability and natural flow by varying rhythm between sentences and being careful about using transitional phrases like “Let’s break that down” or “Here’s why it matters.”
3. Monitor Readability and Natural Flow
- Vary rhythm between sentences.
- Use transitional phrases like “Let’s break that down” or “Here’s why it matters.”
Who Benefits from an AI-Humanization Approach?
Content Creators and Bloggers
- Save time on drafts
- Keep output high, and even increase it, without losing quality
- Grow traffic, which grows the business
Businesses and Marketing Teams
- Maintain brand voice across campaigns
- Increase trust and conversion from written content
- Expand the number of assets used in the campaign
Academics and Researchers
- Use AI ethically in research summaries
- Avoid plagiarism issues
- Cut down on editing time by having AI review for proper formatting and other nitpicky issues that still matter.
Moving Forward With Humanized AI Content
The intersection of AI and human creativity is not a zero-sum game. I firmly believe this because AI is taking over the content world, and humans are still reading the output and taking, or not taking, action afterwards.
Content teams who learn to use AI as a starting point and human insight as the finishing touch will lead their competitors into the future.
Ready to transform your AI content into engaging, human-quality writing?
Our editors have edited and humanized millions of words of AI content. If you’re using AI to increase your content production and want to do it right, with a heavy human editor hand, then get in touch and let’s talk AI content editing.
👉 Schedule an Intro Call today
FAQs: Humanizing AI Text
How can I tell if the content was written by AI?
Look for generic phrasing, inconsistent tone, or lack of real-world references.
What’s the difference between editing and humanizing AI content?
Editing fixes grammar. Humanizing adds emotion, voice, and authenticity.
How much time does humanizing save over writing from scratch?
Up to 40–60% on average, depending on the complexity of the topic.
Can humanized AI content rank in search engines? Yes! Especially if it’s valuable, trustworthy, and well-optimized.
Will AI replace professional writers?
No, but it will change the nature of their work.
What kinds of content are hardest to humanize? Highly creative or emotionally charged pieces like poetry, storytelling, or satire are hard to humanize and may still be best created fully by a human.
How often should I update my humanizing approach?
At least quarterly. AI tools evolve quickly, so your process should too.