AI’s Sleight of Hand: 8 Clues That Email Wasn’t Human

Who doesn’t love a good magic trick? Part of what I find fascinating with magic is you know you’re being tricked, but it’s still exciting to see a great trick. I’ve actually been studying magic lately, and not for some weird weekend side hustle. Part of what I want to understand more deeply is how magicians control attention. One of the keys in marketing is establishing and maintaining attention, so why not learn from the folks who do it for a living?

One of the primary tools is misdirection. A skilled magician will use misdirection to guide your focus away from the real move and toward the illusion. The best illusions aren’t just about skillful sleight of hand. They rely on the audience not noticing what really matters.

And that’s exactly what AI is doing to sales and marketing teams.

AI dazzles with speed and scale. It can generate entire campaigns, sales decks, and email sequences in minutes. The output seems impressive, almost magical. But just like a magician’s trick, what’s distracting you is the show, NOT the substance.

Because while AI has lowered your effort, it hasn’t lowered your buyer’s expectations.

And that’s the real trick you need to pay attention to.

Too many sales and marketing teams are settling. AI’s speed and automation create a false sense of security, making it seem like more content equals better content. But in reality, this overreliance leads to a drop in true engagement and impact. Not because they want to, but because AI makes it easy to believe that something is "good enough." But if your AI-generated pitch, email, or marketing asset is generic, predictable, or impersonal, it won’t connect and it will reduce your perceived value.

According to a DemandGen study, 51% of buyers reported that content was too generic and irrelevant to their needs in 2024, up from 38% in 2023. This shows buyers' expectations are not lowering despite the increase in AI-generated content.

Translation? What sellers and marketers see as "good enough" is actually just noise to buyers.

Recently, I received an email from someone I know personally. But within seconds, I could tell it wasn’t really from him. In real life, he has a unique voice and personality, and this wasn’t close. Normally, I ignore and delete this type of content, but as a student of sales and marketing, I was fascinated. So I spent way too much time dissecting the email, trying to determine why it was so obviously AI-generated.

I will preface this list by saying this is only based on the one email, but this list does feel pretty universal.

8 Clues That Marketing Email Was AI-Generated

1. Fake Personalization
   The email opens with my nickname but fails to show any real understanding of my situation or needs. It "feels" personalized but lacks warmth.

2. Logic Gaps
   I noticed strange leaps in logic that just don't work for the human brain. The message connects dots between seemingly unrelated concepts. I’ve noticed that AI often does that because connections are obvious to its robot brain, and it feels like it doesn’t need to show its work.

3. Awkward Topic Jumps
   What struck me was how abruptly the message shifted between topics. There were jarring transitions with no natural bridge between thoughts, leaving me feeling mentally disoriented.

4. Buzzword Overload
   This one is funny because it was filled with too many buzzwords, but that is a massive problem for humans as well. The giveaway was that it used the buzzwords too well. Humans use buzzwords as a shortcut when they lack real substance, but AI uses buzzwords too much like a lawyer.

5. Tone Confusion
   The writing couldn't decide on a consistent voice. It bounced between an out-of-touch professor and a used car salesperson.

6. Empty Promises
   I kept waiting for an explanation of what makes their offering special but instead got vague references without any specifics about how it would actually benefit my company.

7. Weird Sign-off
   The ending felt particularly awkward. The phrasing read like you told the AI, “challenge the reader with the close, but don’t offend them or be too harsh.”

8. Template Feel
   Reading this message felt like following a rigid formula from start to finish. Human emails meander and have personality. This one felt like a Madlib.

Despite all that, I still love AI, and I know great output can be created with it. The key is you can’t settle.

One summer in college, I worked in a fancy restaurant as a prep chef, but what impressed me most was the expeditor. We had a woman whose job was to check every plate before sending it to the floor, and her eye for detail was incredible. If there was a piece of parsley out of place, she would send it back. She was unrelenting in her definition and demand for quality.

I think of her often when I’m producing content using AI. Is this good enough? Is it smart enough? Is it impactful? Does it provide enough value?

So instead of firing your AI chef, just ensure you are paying attention to what matters most: Value to your audience.

P.S. If AI had written this, it wouldn’t have ended with a restaurant analogy. It would have perfectly closed the loop with the magician. But that’s the brilliance of human writing, imperfections make things interesting!