Is This ChatGPT? How to Tell in 60 Seconds

You don't always have time to paste text into a detector. Sometimes you need a 60-second gut check. Here are the 7 fastest tells for ChatGPT writing specifically — chosen because they're visually distinctive and fast to scan for.

Step 1 — Scan for "delve" (5 seconds)

Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) and search for "delve". If it's there, that's a very strong signal. "Delve" spiked 7.5× in academic writing after ChatGPT's launch (Kobak 2025). Ordinary human writers almost never use it. If you find it, you're likely looking at ChatGPT text.

Step 2 — Read the last paragraph (10 seconds)

Does the last paragraph start with "In conclusion", "To summarize", "Ultimately" or "In summary"? If yes: ChatGPT. Human writers end with their last point. ChatGPT was trained to always wrap up with a formal summary. It does it even when you don't ask.

Step 3 — Count "Furthermore" and "Moreover" (10 seconds)

Search the text for "furthermore" and "moreover". If a 500-word piece has 2+ instances of either, that's unusually high. Human writers use "also" or "and" or start a new paragraph. ChatGPT uses formal transition words compulsively.

Step 4 — Check for "It is worth noting" (5 seconds)

Search for "worth noting" or "it is important to". These significance markers are a ChatGPT reflex. Human writers just say the thing — they don't announce that they're about to say something important.

Step 5 — Count paragraph lengths (10 seconds)

Skim the paragraph lengths. Are they all roughly equal — all medium, all 60–90 words? That's ChatGPT. Human writing has at least one paragraph that's much shorter or much longer than the others. Perfect balance = AI.

Step 6 — Look for a personal detail (10 seconds)

Is there a specific personal memory, a name you recognize, a date that's slightly off, or an odd tangent? Human writers include these by accident. ChatGPT uses generic placeholders: "a student", "a recent study shows", "in many countries". No specific grounding = AI indicator.

Step 7 — Find the opinion (10 seconds)

Does the text take a clear stance on anything? Or does it say "on one hand... on the other hand... it depends on the context"? ChatGPT default-balances everything. Human writers lean one way even on complex topics. Perfect balance is a red flag.

For systematic analysis across all 12 signals — including narrative and humanized AI patterns that aren't visible to the naked eye — use the free AI detector.