Editorial illustration for ChatGPT Users Struggle to Halt Persistent Em Dash Usage
ChatGPT's Em Dash Obsession: Writers' Latest AI Frustration
Users Report Difficulty Getting ChatGPT to Stop Using Em Dashes
The latest quirk in AI writing has users pulling their hair out over an unexpected typographical tyrant: the em dash. What sounds like a minor punctuation problem has ballooned into a full-blown frustration for content creators wrestling with ChatGPT's seemingly unbreakable punctuation habit.
Writers and developers have discovered a bizarre limitation in the popular generative AI tool. Despite multiple attempts to modify its writing style, ChatGPT appears stubbornly attached to the long horizontal line that interrupts sentences with dramatic flair.
The problem goes beyond simple preference. Users report that standard instruction methods, requesting specific formatting, providing explicit guidelines, even rewriting prompts, fail to curb the AI's em dash enthusiasm. What started as a minor annoyance has transformed into a widespread technical challenge that's testing user patience.
Some creators have even resorted to extreme measures in their quest to tame ChatGPT's punctuation persistence. The lengths to which frustrated users will go reveal just how deeply this small typographical issue can disrupt creative workflow.
Users have since found it difficult to instruct ChatGPT to avoid using em dashes in a piece of text. "I pushed, pulled, rewired and begged, but nothing made it stop," one user wrote in a blog post. "$100 for anyone who can show me how to get ChatGPT to stop using em dashes.
It's driving me insane," said Chip Huyen, the author of the popular book 'AI Engineering', in a post on X a few months ago. Multiple factors have been attributed to ChatGPT's increasing use of em dashes. The model reflects patterns present in its training data, which includes a significant amount of modern prose that relies on the mark for pacing, emphasis and fluid transitions.
"If [AI] relied a lot on either magazine writing or blog writing, then those two styles were quite fond of the em dash," said Aileen Gallagher, a journalism professor at Syracuse University, in a statement to the Washington Post earlier this year. Em dashes also offer a compact way to connect or interrupt ideas without additional structure, making them efficient from a token-generation standpoint. The excess usage of em dashes in ChatGPT has also been a subject of jokes and memes on social media.
Some also say that this correlation is unfair. "It's annoying that em dashes have become the telltale sign someone used ChatGPT to generate the text," said one user on X. "I use them often in my emails and writing--probably incorrectly.
Now everyone assumes I'm putting everything through ChatGPT." Altman announced this update a day after OpenAI released the GPT 5.1 model.
ChatGPT's em dash addiction reveals a deeper challenge in AI communication. Users like Chip Huyen are hitting frustrating walls trying to modify the language model's stylistic quirks.
The persistent punctuation problem suggests AI systems aren't as malleable as users might expect. Simple instructions seem ineffective against deeply embedded linguistic patterns.
Attempts to rewire or redirect ChatGPT's em dash usage have proven remarkably difficult. Users report exhausting multiple strategies without success, highlighting the model's stubborn communication style.
What starts as a minor punctuation issue hints at larger questions about AI language generation. Can users truly control generative AI's stylistic choices? The em dash struggle suggests significant limitations.
Huyen's public challenge - offering $100 to anyone who can solve the problem - underscores the genuine irritation among AI users. This isn't just a theoretical concern but a real-world communication barrier.
The situation remains unresolved. For now, ChatGPT users will continue wrestling with unwelcome em dashes - a small but telling glimpse into AI's current communication constraints.
Further Reading
- OpenAI says it's fixed ChatGPT's em dash problem - TechCrunch
- ChatGPT allows users to remove em dashes from text - Jerusalem Post
- No—em-dashes are not a sign of AI - Embedded
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Common Questions Answered
Why are ChatGPT users frustrated with em dash usage?
ChatGPT has developed a persistent habit of overusing em dashes that users cannot seem to modify through standard instructions. Despite multiple attempts to change the writing style, the AI tool continues to insert em dashes into text, causing significant frustration for content creators and writers.
What did Chip Huyen say about ChatGPT's em dash problem?
Chip Huyen, author of 'AI Engineering', publicly expressed her frustration by offering $100 to anyone who could demonstrate how to stop ChatGPT from using em dashes. Her post on X highlighted the widespread challenge users face in controlling the AI's punctuation habits.
What does the persistent em dash usage reveal about AI communication?
The em dash addiction suggests that AI systems have deeply embedded linguistic patterns that are not easily modified through simple instructions. This challenge reveals that AI communication is less malleable than users might initially expect, with certain stylistic tendencies proving remarkably resistant to user intervention.