AI味

What does AI味 mean?

AI味 is the telltale flavor of content made (or massaged) by AI: hollow superlatives, suspiciously parallel sentences, “in conclusion” endings, uncanny images with seven fingers. As AI tools flooded Chinese social media in 2024–2025, calling a text 一股AI味 (“a strong whiff of AI”) became the standard put-down for anything that feels mass-produced and insincere. It can be aimed at others — brands, influencers, lazy classmates — or at yourself, when your own writing comes out suspiciously polished. The opposite compliment is 有活人味 (“tastes human”), cousin to 人机.

Where does AI味 come from?

The term spread as ChatGPT-style writing flooded WeChat, Xiaohongshu and work WeChat groups; after DeepSeek's R1 made AI a household tool in China in January 2025, literally everyone became an AI user overnight — and simultaneously developed a nose for AI output. Schools and publishers now openly discuss how to strip the AI味 out of accepted submissions.

How to use AI味

• 这篇文章一股AI味，读起来毫无感情。
  Zhè piān wénzhāng yī gǔ AI wèi, dú qǐlái háo wú gǎnqíng.
  This article reeks of AI flavor — zero feeling in it.
• 他觉得自己写的文案AI味太重，没敢发。
  Tā juéde zìjǐ xiě de wén'àn AI wèi tài zhòng, méi gǎn fā.
  He thought his copy smelled too much like AI and didn't dare post it.