If you have used AI to write any content, you must have noticed the excessive use of the em dash in the generated content. The use of these dashes by ChatGPT was so persistent that people started interpreting these dashes as a sign of AI-generated content. However, some might soon see less of them, as OpenAI recently said that ChatGPT will now ditch the em dash if users prompt it to do so.
Although the use of these dashes has been in vogue even before the advent of generative AI, their ubiquitous appearance—in school papers, emails, comments, customer service chats, LinkedIn posts, online forums, ad copy, and more—due to AI usage made the em dash a reliable signal of AI-generated material.
ChatGPT did not stop its use
This problem became more complex when the chatbot did not stop using the em dash even when users asked it to do so. However, now OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company has fixed the issue. In a post on X, Altman writes, “If you tell ChatGPT not to use em-dashes in your custom instructions, it finally does what it’s supposed to do,” calling the update a “small-but-happy win”.
How you can avoid it
In a Threads post, the company forced ChatGPT to apologise for “ruining the em dash” and explained in the same post that the chatbot will be better at avoiding the em dash if you instruct it not to via the custom instructions in your personalisation settings. This means it won’t necessarily eliminate the em dash from its output by default, but you will at least have more control over the frequency of its appearance.
ChatGPT group chats pilot
Meanwhile, OpenAI has launched a pilot of ChatGPT group chats, allowing users to work together within a single, shared conversation. Available since November 13th for all logged-in users (Free, Go, Plus, and Pro), this new collaboration feature is currently being tested exclusively in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan.
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