The AI Smells Guide
Use AI to communicate more authentically with your employees.
Everyone uses AI now. That part is over. The question that matters is whether your AI-assisted communications still sound like they came from a person who thought about the reader, chose the right words, and cared about being understood.
Most AI output has telltale patterns, not because the tools are bad, but because the defaults are generic. Default prose flattens your voice. Default formatting buries your message. Default imagery looks like it belongs to no one.
These patterns are what we call AI smells, borrowed from the software concept of code smells: things that technically work but signal that nobody stopped to make them better.
This series is a practical guide to spotting those patterns and fixing them. Not to hide that you use AI. To make sure the result is genuinely yours.
The three learning modules
Each module covers one dimension of AI-assisted communication: how it reads, how it looks on screen, and how it looks as imagery. Each one gives you the patterns, the fixes, and a free prompt you can paste into any LLM.
AI Writing Smells (And How to Fix Them)
8 prose patterns that make AI-generated text obvious. Em-dash overuse, mixed metaphors, prompt-echoing, and five more. Each one has a specific editing fix.
Formatting Smells (And How to Fix Them)
8 formatting patterns that bury your message. Bolding, headings, lists, whitespace, and front-loading. Same words, completely different response rate.
Image Smells (And How to Fix Them)
12 visual patterns that AI image generators reproduce by default. Universal grins, white void backgrounds, mannequin skin, and nine more. Each one has a specific prompt fix.
How to use this series
Read each module. They work independently, but the three together cover the full surface area of AI-assisted workplace communication.
Use the free prompts. Every module ends with a prompt you can paste into any LLM. The writing module's prompt cleans up AI prose. The formatting module's prompt restructures for scanability. The image module's prompt generates authentic workplace visuals.
Pair with the 27 Subtype Guide. This series fixes how your message reads, looks, and feels. The 27 Subtype Communication Guide fixes who you write for. Use both.
Build the skill over time. This is a masterclass, not a checklist. The patterns become second nature with practice. We will add modules as the tools evolve.
Go deeper. This is what Rally does automatically: communications that sound human, look intentional, and connect with every person on your team.