Journal · May 26, 2026
I built an AI-slop linter
So AI stops sounding like AI.
Every AI-narrated video on your feed sounds the same. Same words, same rhythm, the same fake contrasts. Viewers feel it even when they can't name it.
So I built a linter that runs before anything else gets generated. It blocks the words every model leans on, caps the punctuation tells, and cuts the filler. What's left sounds like a person wrote it. Here's what it catches.
They all write the SAME way.
Brand marks © respective owners
50 words AI loves. The linter blocks every one.
BANNED 16 of the 50 banned words
“Never write a sentence ChatGPT would write.”
+ 34 more
ZOTT-LINT Demo · banned words
In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, we leverage cutting-edge tools.
→AI is changing fast. The tools are getting sharper.
Rule 02 The rule
“Max 1 em dash per 1,000 words. No fake contrasts.”
ZOTT-LINT Demo · structural tell
It's not just a workflow — it's a revolution that empowers creators.
→It's a workflow. It works.
TL;DR How to sound human
- 01
Banned words
We leverage robust tools.
→We use solid tools.
- 02
Em dashes
It's not X — it's Y.
→It's Y.
- 03
Hollow intensifiers
Truly revolutionary.
→Good.
- 04
Rule of three
Fast, sharp, clean.
→Fast and clean.
None of this is hard once it runs automatically. The linter just keeps me honest: every script passes through it before a word gets narrated.