How AI-Written Copy Is Messing With Your Sales
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AI isn’t you. Which means it doesn’t know your stories. But it also follows a really weird storytelling pattern that looks more like a sin wave than a storyline, and it’s making your sales copy feel really off.
Here’s the core issue: AI tends to tell stories in cycles. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s part of why AI-written sales copy is so noticeable, even when it’s technically “well written.” or “programmed by real people”.
Sales copy needs to flow so that it leads your reader to be excited to buy from you. However, AI often breaks that momentum by negating itself, interrupting the story, and making your reader do mental gymnastics.
Let’s talk about what that looks like, and how to fix it.
Sales Copy Has a Flow, Like a Super Chill Rollercoaster
I think great copy should flow like a roller coaster
Get on the ride: Above The Fold
When you get on the rollercoaster, you sit down and buckle up. That’s your reader clicking onto your page or opening your email. They’re in. They’re ready. They’ve chosen to give you attention.
Then the ride starts and you get that little lurch forward. That lurch is your above-the-fold section on a sales page, or the opening of your email. It’s where you introduce what this is and why they should care. You get them to move forward with reading your page.
The Dip: Problem Section
And then you hit the dip.
The dip is the problem section. This is where you show them you understand them, in a super specific “here’s what busy looks like in your actual Tuesday afternoon” way. This is the biggest area of opportunity I see on most sales pages. People stay vague. They use broad labels. They miss the lived experience – remember, AI doesn’t feel. You do.
The long, slow climb: Framing YOU as the solution
After the dip, the rollercoaster climbs the first big hill. That click-click-click part where the anticipation builds. That’s the momentum section of your copy, where you shift from “yes, this is hard” to “and here’s what’s possible.”. I call this the ‘solution’ and ‘offer’ sections, but ultimately this is where you want your audience to begin writing themselves into the story.
And once you hit the top, you ride the high.
Throughout the rest of the sales page, tell people what you offer. Tell them why they should want it. DO NOT dip back in to problem language. You’ve established this already, now establish your authority and make them want to smash the buy button. You make buying feel inevitable because everything they need to decide is right there.
That’s the flow.
Now let’s talk about how AI loves to throw people off the ride.
The Real Problem With AI Copy Is That It Negates Itself
AI doesn’t tell stories in a clean, linear way. It often tries to sell by explaining what something is, and then immediately explaining what it’s not.
It loves phrases like:
“It’s this, without the overwhelm.”
“It’s not X, it’s Y.”
“No fluff.”
“No stress.”
“No extra time on your part.”
And on the surface, those sound fine. They sound like marketing. But they can create friction where it’s not needed.
Negation forces your reader’s brain to pause. They have to picture the thing you just told them it’s not, even if only for a second. It’s like introducing a weird little plot twist that no one asked for.
Which brings me to my favorite example: lumpy butts.
The Dressing Room Example: Lumpy Butts
Imagine you and I are shopping for pants. You’re standing in the dressing room deciding whether to buy them. You’re already doing the internal math. Cost, fit, how often you’ll wear them, do you need them, do they feel like you… you get the picture. You like them, but do you like them like them?
So, you poke your head out of your dressing room and ask me, “Do you like them? I think I like them.”
If I want you to buy the pants, I should stay in the flow. I should build momentum. I should tell you, “Oh my gosh, they make your legs look longer. They look amazing with those sneakers. They’re perfect for that party. The fabric has some stretch so you’ll be comfortable sitting all night.”
Now imagine I say this instead:
“They’re perfect for the party. And it doesn’t even make your butt look lumpy.”
You’re not hearing “perfect for the party” anymore.
You’re thinking, “Wait. Do my other pants make my butt look lumpy? Does my butt look lumpy right now? Is this something I need to worry about?”
I just introduced a problem you were not thinking about, and I broke the buying momentum. That’s exactly what AI does when it negates itself.
It tries to reassure by naming the fear, when what actually happens is it distracts the reader.
Your Next Steps: Check for Flow, Not “Good Writing”
If you used AI to help you write, I’m not here to shame you. AI can be useful. But you have to edit for flow, not just grammar.
Here’s what I want you to look for as you audit your copy:
First, make sure there’s a clear statement of what it is. On a sales page, that’s your above-the-fold section. In an email, it’s your opening. If your reader can’t tell what this is in ten seconds, the ride doesn’t even start.
Then check your problem section. Are the problems isolated to one part of the page, or are you dragging people back into the dip over and over again? Because once you name the problem and start climbing, you don’t want to keep pulling them back down into “life is awful and you’re failing” every two scrolls.
Then check for negation language that breaks momentum. The easiest way to do this is literally to Control-F your doc.
Search for:
“It’s not”
“Not about”
“Without the”
“No fluff”
“No overwhelm”
“No stress”
Ask yourself, “Did my reader need to picture that negative in order to understand what I’m selling?”
Most of the time, the answer is no.
Just tell them what it is. Tell them what’s included. Tell them what happens when they say yes. Keep the rollercoaster moving.
Because the goal of sales copy is not to make people think harder. It’s to make the decision feel obvious.
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