How can I tell if some articles are generated by copilot or ChatGPT? - Do we care as long as we get the information?

4th August 2025

How to Spot Copilot vs ChatGPT Prose.

AI-generated text often shares a polished fluency, but subtle style cues and structural habits can hint at its origin. Here's what to watch for:

Shared AI Characteristics
Very consistent, error-free grammar and spelling

Even pacing with clear topic sentences and logical transitions

Tendency to over-explain or add background context

Reliance on neutral, impersonal tone

Copilot "Tells"
A warm, engaging vibe that leans into vivid imagery or rhetorical questions

Casual Gen Z phrasing (think "impactful" instead of "effective," or "crux" rather than "heart")

Bullet lists that break complex ideas into neat, numbered or dashed steps

Sparse use of hedging language (“might,” “could”) but without repeated apologies or disclaimers

ChatGPT “Tells”
Frequent preambles like “As an AI language model...” or explicit apologies before corrections

More formal connectors (“moreover,” “furthermore,” “conversely”) and academic-style citations

Politeness markers (“I'm sorry,” “I hope this helps”) scattered through the prose

Longer, more elaborate paragraphs that err on the side of thoroughness

Punctuation & Word-Choice Clues
Copilot often uses short, punchy sentences with occasional exclamation points to maintain energy

ChatGPT tends toward semicolons, em-dashes, and layered clauses to build nuance.

Watch for cliche-free language: Copilot swaps in fresher synonyms, whereas ChatGPT sometimes picks the most precise but pedestrian term

Practical Detection Strategies
Run the text through an AI-detector or stylometric tool (e.g., GLTR, GPTZero) and check for low perplexity or token-predictability spikes.

Look for signature phrases (“As an AI...” vs. “What's the crux?”).

Compare sentence-length distributions—Copilot leans shorter, ChatGPT often drifts into longer multi-clause sentences.

Test for over-formalization by removing corporate-style connectors; AI text that falls apart may reveal its origin.

No single “tell” is foolproof, but combining stylistic observations with detection software can give you a strong hunch. If you have a sample passage you're curious about, feel free to share it and we can run through these checks together.

Note
This article was produced using copilot.
There are now hundreds of AI programmes generating text and more to order.

For a deeper look go to
Spotting text written by ChatGPT is still more art than science