I am naming this arc The Synthetic Language Curve. In a 2025 study of 300 articles, people who frequently used ChatGPT for writing tasks caught 99% of the ones written by AI; most people scored at 56.7%.
We have seen this arc before. Print made type cheap and uniform, which resulted in the wedding invitation market going up rather than down. The handwritten thank you note became etiquette. Cheap uniform print created the conditions where handwriting carried weight.
The same arc ran through music (vinyl after CDs) and photography (the unfiltered shot after the era of filters).
AI writing assistance is early on its version of the curve. Microsoft reported 16.1 million paid Copilot seats and 12 million daily active users in Q2 FY26, against a base of 450 million commercial M365 subscribers. Gmail and Docs have AI on by default in their newest tiers. The choice to ship AI on by default will transform communication on a timeline the audience does not control.
When this rolls fully into most communication channels, the recognition of AI prose may become widespread. The assumption "the audience cannot tell" may stop being safe to make. And then, eventually, prose itself will follow the arc that vinyl and handwriting already traveled. Typos and imperfect grammar may become a nostalgic comfort. Writing that reads as human.
I wrote my thoughts about this topic as an insight on my site called The Synthetic Language Curve.
Where are you on this arc today? Heavy users of AI are the people who will see this first.
Written by Duane Grey
AI Strategy & Implementation
Independent AI consultant helping companies cut through hype and deploy systems that produce real results.