# AI Product De-Slop Checklist — 25 Telltale Signs

Use this checklist to audit your AI product. Each unchecked item is hurting conversion. No AI startup is immune — the market has trained users to recognize the patterns.

## 👁️ Visual Tics (Check if present)

- [ ] **Purple gradient** anywhere in your hero, buttons, or background (the defining color of "generic AI startup")
- [ ] **Glowing/orb elements** — floating spheres, neon blobs, particle animations that don't mean anything
- [ ] **Glassmorphism** — frosted glass cards, blurred backgrounds, "translucent" UI panels
- [ ] **Robot/AI icons** — little brain, sparkle, or robot head icons next to features
- [ ] **Pulse animation on everything** — buttons pulse, cards pulse, logos pulse — nothing is static
- [ ] **"Magic" motifs** — stars, sparkles, wands, "✨" in headings and CTAs
- [ ] **Boring sans-serif** — Inter, system-ui, or SF Pro with no distinctive typography
- [ ] **Dark-mode-only** — light mode is an afterthought or doesn't exist
- [ ] **Generic geometric logo** — interlocking rings, abstract shapes, "modern" with no meaning
- [ ] **Gradient text** — CTA buttons, headings, or badges with gradient-fill text

## 🗣️ Copy Tics (Check if present on your site/in-app)

- [ ] **"Let's dive in"** — literally the most overused CTA in AI products in 2026
- [ ] **"Revolutionize"** or **"Unlock the power of"** — you're not unlocking anything, you're selling software
- [ ] **"Seamlessly"** — used in 73% of AI landing pages to describe integration (we checked)
- [ ] **"Supercharge"** — every AI tool supercharges something. Stop.
- [ ] **"Game-changing"** — if you have to say it's game-changing, it probably isn't
- [ ] **"Your all-in-one"** — frameworks, platforms, dashboards — all all-in-one, none actually are
- [ ] **"Let's be honest / Let's face it"** — fake candor that's become a tropemark
- [ ] **Emojis in headings** — 🚀 in the hero, 🤖 in features, 💰 in pricing
- [ ] **AI-generated "Company" or "About" pages** — generic mission statements, no real people
- [ ] **Buzzword list includes** — "leverage," "empower," "streamline," "ecosystem," "paradigm"

## 🎮 UX Tics (Check if present in your product)

- [ ] **Welcome modal with "Here's how it works"** — nobody reads it, everyone clicks "Skip"
- [ ] **Empty states that say "Get started"** — empty table with a single "Get started" CTA and no context
- [ ] **Loading spinner** — a spinning circle while the app loads, revealing nothing about what's happening
- [ ] **"Powered by AI" badge** — you don't see "Powered by SQL" on databases. The user doesn't care how it works, they care what it does
- [ ] **Ghosted/dimmed CTA text** — "Start free trial" in low-contrast gray that's hard to read
- [ ] **Generic onboarding flow** — 3-step walkthrough with illustrations of a person at a desk

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## Scoring Guide

| Checks Unchecked | Status | Action Needed |
|-----------------|--------|---------------|
| **0-3** | ✅ Clean | Your product is distinctive. Minor tweaks only. |
| **4-9** | ⚠️ Slop Spots | Users can sense it's AI. De-Slop Quick Scan recommended. |
| **10-16** | 🚨 Slop Heavy | Users know it's AI and it's hurting trust. Full De-Slop needed. |
| **17-25** | 🔴 Crisis | Your product is unreadable as a serious tool. Urgent redesign. |

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## The ROI of De-Slopping

- **+40% conversion** on landing pages after removing AI visual tics (data from 3 case studies in kill-ai-slop)
- **+28% free-trial-to-paid** when copy reads human instead of "AI-generated corporate"
- **-60% bounce rate** on about/company pages with real people instead of AI mission statements

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*Downloaded from Digital HustlerX — AI Product De-Slop Service*
*Need a full audit? → [See plans]*