How to Humanize AI-Written Press Releases
Journalists receive hundreds of press releases per week. They've become extraordinarily efficient at filtering — and AI-generated press releases get filtered in the first sentence. Not because of any detection tool, but because journalists recognise immediately when a release has no genuine news angle, uses language designed to sound impressive rather than to communicate information, and contains no quote that any real human would actually say. Here's how to fix that.
What Journalists Notice About AI Press Releases
A journalist who covers technology, business, or any beat receives enough press releases to develop acute pattern recognition for AI-generated content. The tell isn't any single word or phrase — it's the accumulation of problems that make the release fail at its fundamental job of communicating genuine news.
AI press releases are optimised for sounding professional rather than for communicating specific information. They use phrases like "innovative solution", "leveraging cutting-edge technology", and "transformative approach" that mean nothing specific. They contain quotes that no executive would ever actually say in a conversation: "We are thrilled to announce this groundbreaking partnership that will revolutionise the industry for years to come." Every journalist has read this sentence in ten thousand variations and mentally categorised it as not a story.
Real press releases communicate a specific fact in the first sentence: what happened, to whom, and why it matters. Everything after that supports the news claim with specific evidence. AI press releases bury the specific fact under context, position the announcement as more significant than it is, and use executive quotes that add no information.
Before and After: Press Release Lead Paragraph
AI version
""Acme Corporation, a leading provider of innovative enterprise software solutions, today announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with GlobalTech Industries that will transform the way businesses approach digital transformation. This landmark collaboration represents a significant milestone in Acme's mission to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions that empower organisations to achieve unprecedented levels of operational excellence.""
After HumanizeTech + your actual news
""Acme Corporation and GlobalTech Industries have agreed a $40 million joint development deal to build AI-powered supply chain software targeting mid-market manufacturers. The product is expected to launch in Q1 2027 and will be the first integrated offering from either company to address multi-warehouse inventory optimisation at that price point.""
The Press Release Humanization Workflow
Identify your actual news
One sentence: what happened, what the number is, what changed. If you can't state this in one sentence, you don't have a press release yet — you have a corporate announcement that isn't news. Do this before AI involvement.
Draft with AI around your news fact
Give AI your news fact and ask it to draft a press release. The AI provides structure and professional framing — but everything in the release must support your specific news claim, not substitute vague language for it.
Humanize through Professional mode
Professional mode removes the corporate hyperbole and the empty superlatives that AI press releases default to. The output is tighter, more direct, and reads as having been written by someone with a specific point to make.
Rewrite every quote by hand
Executive quotes in AI press releases are universally bad. Rewrite them as things a real person might say in a conversation about this announcement. Include something specific — a reason, a number, a genuine reaction — not just generic enthusiasm.