Diagnosis · press release
Why your press release sounds like AI
A press release is a regulated-feeling genre with real required parts. The tell is not the structure. It is what a model piles on top of it.
A press release already follows required moves: dateline, boilerplate paragraph, named spokesperson quote. What AI adds on top is significance-inflation the format did not ask for, escalated adjectives on routine news and, most tellingly, an executive quote with the right name and title but a sentiment nobody actually said in an interview. The wire-service structure is not the tell. The invented quote and the escalated adjective are.
Why this happens to press release in particular
Press releases follow a format wire services and reporters expect: a dateline, a lead paragraph answering who and what, a quote attributed to a named executive, and a boilerplate paragraph about the company at the close. None of that structure is optional, and none of it reads as AI, because human PR writers use the identical template. What gives a model-written release away is what it adds inside that structure: an adjective escalated past what the news supports on a routine product update, and an executive quote that carries the right name and title but a sentiment invented to fill the slot rather than something the executive actually said. The format is a container. The inflation on top of it is the fingerprint.
The tells that show up here
Not every AI tell appears everywhere. These are the ones that cluster on this surface, and what it is about the format that produces them.
- testament-family
- A modest product update gets inflated through the copula-avoidance move that treats an ordinary announcement as proof of a company's larger character or mission, rather than describing what the product actually does, because the news itself does not support the weight of the sentence.
- vague-attribution
- A boilerplate paragraph sometimes reaches for the same sourceless citation a blog post opens with: a broader industry shift credited to nameless analysts, or a trend backed by a report nobody can point to. That is a separate problem from the invented executive quote elsewhere in the release. A fabricated quote carries a real name and title, so no automated check catches it; only a call to the executive who is supposed to have said it does.
- groundbreaking
- A model reaches for the strongest available significance-adjective on announcements a wire editor would flag as routine, supplying escalated language rather than an accurate description of what actually changed.
- not-only-but
- A single, modest announcement gets stacked into a two-part claim that pairs a routine update with a grander mission statement, making one piece of news read as more comprehensive than it is.
Before and after
A generic AI draft on the left. On the right, the real output of running that draft through underslop, checked so it adds no name or number the draft did not already carry. The voice is The Cold Analyst, flat and impersonal
[CITY, STATE] — Acme Corp today announced the launch of its new scheduling tool, a groundbreaking solution that will revolutionize how teams manage their time. This achievement stands as a testament to Acme's unwavering commitment to innovation. 'We are thrilled to unlock this incredible milestone for our customers,' said Jane Smith, VP of Product. The tool not only streamlines scheduling but also empowers teams to reach their full potential. Acme Corp is a leading provider of workplace solutions.
Acme Corp announced the release of a new scheduling tool. The product, according to the company, is meant to help teams manage their time. Jane Smith, VP of Product, called it an incredible milestone for customers. Acme Corp describes itself as a leading provider of workplace solutions.
How to fix it yourself
- Keep the four required moves, nothing else A press release needs a dateline, a lead paragraph, one named quote, and a boilerplate close. Confirm those four pieces exist and cut anything added beyond them before you touch a single adjective.
- Downgrade every significance adjective to what the news supports Read each superlative in the draft and ask whether a skeptical wire editor would agree with it unprompted. If not, replace it with the plain description of what actually changed.
- Verify the quote was actually said Send the drafted quote to the named executive and ask them to confirm it or rewrite it in their own words. A quote nobody said is the single clearest tell in the whole release, and the only line a reporter might try to check directly.
- Cut any claim stacked into a two-part sentence Read each sentence that pairs a routine update with a grander mission claim. Keep whichever half is actually the news and drop the other, or give it its own sentence if it independently matters.
Questions
How do I stop something sounding like AI?
For a press release specifically, keep the required structure, dateline, lead, quote, boilerplate, and remove what a model adds on top of it: escalated adjectives and an invented executive quote. The fix is subtraction inside a format you are not supposed to change.
Is PR at risk from AI?
The format is not at risk; reporters and wire services still expect the same structure. What is at risk is trust in the quote line, since a fabricated executive sentiment is the one part of a release a reporter can actually call and check.
What is an AI press release?
A release that keeps the correct wire-service structure but fills it with significance-inflation the news does not support: escalated adjectives on routine updates and an executive quote invented to fill the slot rather than something the named person said.
Do editors actually notice the inflated adjectives?
Wire editors and reporters read releases all day and discount superlatives by default. A release with a maximum-strength adjective on a minor update gets the same skepticism as one with no adjective at all, so the inflation costs credibility without buying attention.
Can I use a real quote from an interview?
Yes, and it is the single best fix. A quote taken from an actual conversation with the executive, in their own words, is the fastest way to make the rest of the release read as reported rather than generated.
This page explains the cause. underslop is the edit: paste up to 500 words on the free tier, and it marks the tells it could not remove. Your text is held for 0 seconds.