Don't Write Like AI (3 of 101): Colons, Colons Everywhere

Another favorite writing technique of AI? The colon.

Colons are great. I love colons. Even the one in your gut serves a beneficial purpose. But when ChatGPT overuses those two dots in your writing, it starts to feel…robotic.

Because generative AI aims for efficiency, you’ll often see a lot of colons in its output. They do a few things AI really likes:

• More concise. Colons let AI be brief and direct.
• Easy cohesion. They connect ideas without needing transitions.
• Definitions. AI loves to explain. You'll often see a sentence like:
  Here are the benefits: cost savings, flexibility, and speed.
• Instructional tone. AI slips into teacher mode fast. But if your tone is meant to be human or persuasive, the colons can pile up.
• Low risk. A colon is safer than crafting a nuanced sentence. For example:
  The solution is simple: automation.

The Problem with Colons

Again, the issue isn’t that ChatGPT uses colons. It’s that it can use a lot — and I mean a lot — of colons.

Where colon overload shows up

1. In multiple paragraphs in a row.
You’ll sometimes see three paragraphs in a row with colons. AI loves consistency. But readers notice when every thought follows the same structure. It feels flat and repetitive.

2. In a paragraph and the bullet list lead-in.
Example:

Your content needs to do more than just inform: it should engage, persuade, and guide action. That kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident. The best content teams focus on three key areas:
- Strategy
- Voice
- Distribution

Personal opinion, this is just bad taste. If I see this structure — colon mid-paragraph, then another colon before bullets — I’m raising the red flag for AI-generated writing. 

3. Alongside other AI writing tells.
Here's a sentence that screams “I was written by ChatGPT”:

Here’s what you need to know: AI isn’t just a trend—it’s a competitive advantage.

It’s got all the signs:
– A colon
– A negation structure (it's not X, it's Y)
– An em dash

4. In every header.
Ask ChatGPT for blog headers, and you’ll get something like this:

– Why AI Writing Still Feels Robotic: The Real Culprit Behind the Tone
– Fixing Your Content Flow: A Practical Guide to Better Transitions
– The Power of Prompting: How to Get More Human Output from AI

Every header has a colon. It’s not wrong, but it’s predictable. And that predictability is a giveaway.

The Solution

Should you prompt ChatGPT to "use fewer colons"? Honestly, I don’t recommend it.

Prompts that tightly control style often limit the creativity of the output. I’d rather get the most compelling content first. And then clean it up.

What I do instead:

• While editing in ChatGPT or Claude, I highlight a section and ask the AI to rework it without the colon.
• If I see colons in three paragraphs in a row, I revise at least one.
• If a colon shows up right before a bullet list, and another one just showed up in the same section, I remove one.
• If every header has a colon, I’ll ask for alternative headings, just without colons.

Wrap-up

I’m not anti-colon. But I am anti-pattern.

Colons are useful. Just don’t let them become your writing’s default move. If it starts to feel repetitive or robotic, it probably is.

Catch it. Cut it. Or ask ChatGPT to rework it for you.