How To Train Your Robot: Crafting Humanized ChatGPT Website Content in 2024

There’s something almost uncanny about reading a blog post that feels like you’re stuck in a lift with a very polite customer service bot. It ticks along, follows all the rules, never treads on any toes, and leaves you strangely colder than before you started. I’ve spent the better part of two years wrangling with AI tools like ChatGPT, and if I’m honest, it sometimes feels like they’re training me, not the other way round.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed it too. Your website’s content might be rolling out faster than ever, but it’s somehow missing that bit of warmth, unpredictability, even awkward charm that turns a casual visitor into a loyal fan. Let’s not beat about the bush: if the words on your site start sounding like a ransomware ransom note or a fridge manual, people will sniff it out, and they won’t come back.

Critically, writing effective content means making sure it works for actual humans instead of focusing solely on how it “performs well” for search bots. From years as a designer, developer, and perennial ‘do-a-bit-of-everything’ small business owner, I can tell you the heart of the project rarely comes from a list of keyword targets or efficiency KPIs.

So, if you’re determined to use AI to help speed up your workflow without giving up your soul, you’re in the right place.

Why This Matters

Time for a confession: I once thought that adopting AI content tools would free me up to spend more days walking the dog, or, at the very least, drinking better coffee while working. Anyone who’s sat through a three-hour content planning session with ChatGPT will know how that’s going.

The promise was automation: get more done, faster. Yet what actually wastes time (and money) are lifeless, interchangeable articles that do nothing for your brand. You push them live, cross your fingers, and wonder why nobody’s engaging, sharing, or responding the way you'd hoped.

Every hour spent fixing, re-writing or “humanising” nearly-there drafts is time you could have used to sketch a new landing page, call a client, or accept that invitation to the pub that’s been sitting unread in your WhatsApp for days.

At worst, soulless writing can dull your messaging until it’s unrecognisable. You might have five times the blog posts, but none that actually sound like you, your team, or the brand you’re passionate about building.

Common Pitfalls

The most common mistake is outsourcing all the personality to the robot and treating AI as an oracle.

Here’s what happens:

• You paste a basic prompt into ChatGPT: “Write a blog post about X for my website.”
• Ten seconds later you get a perfectly structured, distinctly bloodless article, bristling with phrases like “in the ever-evolving landscape…” and “our robust suite of solutions…”
• You copy, paste, schedule. Next week, you wonder why Google analytics shows visitors bouncing off your page faster than you can say “bespoke solution.”

AI isn't useless. In fact, it’s full of potential. The trouble is, it defaults to a universal, careful, and weirdly soulless neutrality. It’ll sound just like every other AI-generated post out there, with the same recycled catchphrases and none of the stories, quirks, or odd little tangents that make writing memorable.

Other pitfalls:

• Over-formality creeping into supposedly “friendly” blogs.
• Missing anecdotes and first-person insight.
• Jargon galore (“domain,” “area,” “discover hidden tips”).
• Obvious templating (one-size-fits-all structure).
• A bland call-to-action tacked on at the end, usually inviting you to “take your first step towards digital transformation.”
• Most damning: nobody on your team wants to claim authorship unless forced.

Step-by-Step Fix

You can combine AI and authentic, engaging content. Over the years I've built up a practical toolkit for training your robot to sound much more like you. Aim for something genuinely human, helpful, and a little scruffier for the better.

1. Record Before You Write (Speech-to-Text Magic)

Before you ever touch ChatGPT, start with your own voice—literally. Take five minutes, grab your phone, and ramble about your chosen topic using apps like Otter.ai or TalkNotes. Imagine explaining it in the pub after someone’s asked, “So, what do you actually do for a living?”

Speech-to-text technology can capture quirks, idioms, easter eggs of wisdom (or sarcasm), and those half-finished, rambling sentences that hilariously end up as your favourite testimonials. This kind of “raw” language is nearly impossible for AI to simulate from scratch.

2. Give AI Clear Examples: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Rather than leaving your AI to guess, feed it with strong examples of “good” and “bad” writing first.

For instance:

• Bad: “In the ever-changing area of digital marketing, businesses must manage complex complexities to achieve strong results.”
• Good: “I once watched a client spend three months budgeting for a Facebook ad, only to stick the wrong phone number in their campaign images. Sometimes, our biggest hurdle isn’t strategy, it’s proofreading before caffeine.”

See the difference? The "bad" is all abstract waffle; the "good" throws you into a real scenario, with a thread of very human fallibility.

3. Train Your Robot: Banned Phrase List

After years of grumbling at the same robotic clichés, I’ve built a list of wordy offenders that guarantee a paragraph will sound like it was spat out by a server farm.

Before you hit publish, instruct your AI tool to replace these (and others that haunt you):

bespoke, complexities, daunting, ever-changing, ever-evolving, in the heart of, in the area of, it is advisable, meticulously, managing, not only, our suite, area, strong, more than just, sphere, created for, towards, underpins, discover hidden tips, unveil hidden tips, when it comes to, in today's environment

If you spot one slipping through, tweak it on the spot. It’s like giving your writing a quick brush of deodorant before heading out.

4. Rework AI Drafts Into Your Own Rhythm

Once ChatGPT hands you its draft, don’t treat it as gospel. Take a red pen to it. Read paragraphs out loud. If it sounds like a legal disclaimer, it probably is. Rewrite with the rhythm of real conversation: short bursts, questions, contrarian asides, cheeky jokes.

Example tweak:

• AI version: “It is advisable to leverage emerging technologies for optimal content delivery.”
• Better: “If you’re not already using text-to-speech tools, you’re spending twice as long on every post. Ask me how I know (hint: my lunch usually gets cold).”

5. Anchor Your Content With Real Stories or Tangible Outcomes

Readers remember stories. If you can’t think of a first-person tale, borrow one from your team or clients (with permission, or change names if you’re being diplomatic). Anchor advice with a quick anecdote or a practical “I tried this. Here’s what exploded. Here’s what finally worked.”

Example:

• Sharing a story about your first attempt to use ChatGPT and producing a dangerously dull demo, then comparing it with the more colourful approach above.
• Explaining exactly how many hours you saved, or how a grumpy client finally complimented your content.

6. Add a “Jargon Buster” and Real FAQs

If you catch yourself using lingo that your nan wouldn’t understand, jot down a quick “Jargon Buster” at the end of your post. Even seasoned pros appreciate a quick explainer now and again (I still Google half of what my accountant says).

Pair this with a real FAQ section answering questions you actually get from clients. You can demonstrate your expertise by thinking ahead for your reader.

What Most People Miss

Most people overlook the reality that the only “voice” AI truly understands is the one you train it to mimic. If you leave it on factory settings, you’ll get the copywriting equivalent of airport lounge jazz: predictable and disposable.

The line between great and forgettable is in the details:

• Sharing the failed attempts as well as the polished final product.
• Asking ChatGPT to emulate your favourite blog or newsletter, complete with their quirks.
• Setting a house style, as you would with a junior copywriter, and feeding ChatGPT snippets of your best-performing posts so it can start to “learn” your beat.
• Occasionally poking fun at yourself, your process, or even the AI itself. (“Yes, ChatGPT tried to call our weekly update the ‘ever-evolving sphere of possibility.’ I nearly choked on my tea.”)

If every piece reads like it could have come from anyone, you miss the weird magic that makes content binge-worthy in the first place.

The Bigger Picture

Getting the balance right shapes how your business communicates, how approachable you feel to nervous prospects, and how loyal your audience becomes.

A year from now, you can have a towering archive of content that sounds distinctively “you,” or a glut of generic info that could have come from any website on Earth. Content that sounds like you gets you remembered, recommended, and even forgiven for the occasional typo. Generic writing feels like nutritional paste: technically nourishing, utterly forgettable.

By training your robot to follow your quirks and embrace the odd detour into humanity, you reclaim time and personality. You’ll save hours of soul-sapping rewrite, and you might also find yourself enjoying the process more. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll finally produce those blog posts that make your team forward the link with a cryptic “ha! See point 4.”

Wrap-Up

If you’ve read this far, congratulations. You’re one of the tenacious souls who wants their writing to survive the age of AI with its personality intact. Remember:

• Start all content with your voice, not the robot’s.
• Give AI crystal-clear examples, not just topics.
• Banish the worst buzzwords before they can infect your prose.
• Rewrite by ear, not by checklist.
• Anchor advice with genuine stories, failings, and all.
• Add human touches: jargon busters, FAQs, admissions of error.

You’ll start seeing your content convert stray visitors into loyal fans, and feel much better about what you publish (or at least spend less time reading your own blog posts and cringing).

This entire article is the result of testing nearly every tip listed here. For full disclosure, yes, I let ChatGPT take the first run. But every edit, every anecdote, and every eye-roll at a “bespoke solution” is what turns writing into something worth reading.

Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership. You’ll find courses, real community support, and the occasional web design story your nan would enjoy.

Jargon Buster

• Speech-to-text technology: Tools like Otter.ai or TalkNotes that turn whatever you say out loud into handy written notes, including regional accents, coughs and all.
• AI-generated content: Anything written by bots like ChatGPT. Sometimes dazzling, sometimes… not.
• Bot-like writing: Words that sound overly polished, cold, and less fun than a tax return.
• Persona: The distinct style, attitude, and lovably odd mannerisms your content uses.
• Conversational language: Writing as you’d speak. If you wouldn’t say it in the car, don’t put it in your blog.

Real FAQs

How can speech-to-text tech help make content feel more human?
Speech-to-text captures your actual talking style, tangents, mixed-up metaphors and all. It’s far messier (and more interesting) than writing after three coffees in silence, and gives AI better material to mould.

What’s the number one mistake with AI-generated content?
Letting the bot do all the work, so your stories, voice, and humour disappear. That sterilised style is why so many sites feel like they were written by a committee of wallpaper samples.

How do I show AI what ‘good’ content is?
Give it real examples. Feed it your best and worst paragraphs, then say, “Write more like this, less like that.” If you’re feeling brave, ask colleagues or clients for what they actually liked reading.

Should I worry about sounding unprofessional if I crack a joke or admit a mistake?
If your jokes are better than mine, you’re golden. Honestly, people (even in B2B) appreciate honesty and a bit of humility. It sets you apart.

Is it cheating to use AI this way?
It’s only cheating if you don’t add your own fingerprints. AI is a tool, not a replacement for actual experience, taste, or your inability to finish a sentence without checking the fridge.

Elwyn Davies

Elwyn's spent more years than he’ll admit building websites, writing (sometimes embarrassing) copy, and working with clients of every size. He founded Pixelhaze Academy to help the next wave of web geeks and business builders find their voice, master digital tricks, and do a little less staring at blank screens. If he weren’t in this game, he’d probably be teaching, or kicking himself for not being first to launch an AI-powered coffee shop.