Fix the AI rule of three in a draft you already have
If a paragraph hands you three adjectives, then three verbs, then three nouns, you're looking at cadence, not a plan. Keep the triad that is actually the set. Cut the ones that only sound complete. The tool below does a pass; you should still glance at whatever list of three is left and ask whether it's true.
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A real before and after
A launch-plan paragraph with four triads in a row, run through the live pipeline on November 13, 2026. Slop score 100 → 27. The date (December 2) and the 80 customers were kept. The leftover triad — "onboarding, training, and support" — is the actual rollout, so it stayed. "Simple, robust, and holistic" and "unlock our full potential" did not.
Before (slop score 100)
Our launch plan is simple, robust, and holistic. It will boost productivity, foster collaboration, and unlock our full potential. The rollout covers onboarding, training, and support. In this market, speed, quality, and trust all matter. We ship the beta on December 2 to 80 existing customers.
After the unslop tool (score 27)
Our launch plan covers onboarding, training, and support, with the goal of helping everyone work more productively and collaborate better. We need to move quickly, deliver quality, and maintain trust in this market. We'll ship the beta to 80 existing customers on December 2.
How to edit a triad by hand
| If the list is… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Three vague adjectives (robust, seamless, holistic; simple, powerful, intuitive) | Delete the list. Say the one concrete thing the product does. |
| Three hype verbs (boost, foster, unlock) | Replace with what actually happens, in one verb. |
| Three real parts of a plan or a product | Keep it. Two or four items are also fine if that's the truth. |
| Several triads in the same paragraph | Keep at most one, the one you could defend in a meeting. |
The AI slop detector flags lists of exactly three at half weight, because humans use them too. Wikipedia's guide makes the same point: look for clusters, not a single trio. For a full rewrite with a before/after score, use the tool at the top of this page.
FAQ
What is the AI rule of three?
The habit of grouping things in exactly three for cadence: "simple, robust, and holistic"; "onboarding, training, and support"; "speed, quality, and trust". Wikipedia's Signs of AI writing lists reflexive lists of three as a tell. One real list of three is fine. Several in a row is rhythm, not information.
How do I know if a triad is decorative?
Ask whether the three items are actually the set, or just a balanced-sounding group. "The rollout covers onboarding, training, and support" might be the real scope. "Simple, robust, and holistic" is almost never a real set — it's three adjectives looking for a noun.
Does the unslop tool remove every list of three?
No, and it shouldn't. In the example on this page the slop score went from 100 to 27: the decorative triads and the hype verbs were cut, but "onboarding, training, and support" stayed because that was the actual rollout. A leftover triad that is true is not a failure.
Is this the same as bullet lists?
Related, not identical. In our study, modern AI used 29.24 bullet lines per 1,000 words vs 0.03 for humans. A real checklist should stay a list. A paragraph that turns every point into a trio of adjectives should not.