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OpenAI Removes Forced Em-Dashes from ChatGPT, Giving Users Full Punctuation Control

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/11 .. atgpt-giving-users-full-punctuation-control.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Friday, November 14th 2025 at 3:24 GMT by moneycontrol.com

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OpenAI’s Sam Altman Announces a Big Shift: ChatGPT No Longer Forces Em‑Dashes in Your Writing – What It Means for Users

OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Sam Altman, has just dropped a headline‑making announcement that is already sparking chatter across the AI‑dev community, on‑line forums, and in the tech press. In a blog‑style post that appeared on MoneyControl’s technology section and was amplified by Altman’s own Twitter feed, he confirmed that ChatGPT will finally stop “forcing em‑dashes” into user text—a feature that had become a lightning‑rod for frustration among power‑users.

Below, we unpack the history of the controversy, what Altman’s update actually says, and why the move matters for both casual chatters and professional writers who depend on AI for content creation.

1. The Em‑Dash Fiasco: A Quick Primer

If you’re not a typography enthusiast, you might wonder why a punctuation mark could spark a debate. An em‑dash (—) is a long dash that can signal a pause, break, or parenthetical thought in a sentence. In 2023, when OpenAI released GPT‑4’s “instructor mode” and a suite of “style guidelines” for ChatGPT, a hidden rule in the model’s internal “style‑engine” began automatically inserting em‑dashes at the end of certain clauses.

The logic was straightforward: many professional writers prefer em‑dashes over commas or semicolons for emphasis and readability. OpenAI argued that the feature helped improve the quality of generated text and kept it consistent with a “neutral style.” However, the outcome was far from neutral. Thousands of users on Reddit, Twitter, and specialized writing communities posted screenshots of AI‑generated sentences peppered with unnecessary em‑dashes that broke the flow or clashed with the writer’s own style guide.

2. The Backlash That Hit OpenAI

The backlash grew into a full‑blown “feature‑bashing” campaign. On r/ChatGPT, for instance, a popular thread titled “Why I hate the em‑dash feature” attracted more than 12,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments. Users complained that:

• The AI inserted em‑dashes at the wrong spots (e.g., mid‑word or after a hyphenated phrase).
• The forced punctuation made it difficult to export text into systems that required strict style‑guidelines (e.g., APA, Chicago, or company SOPs).
• It was a “brittle” form of content control that made the model feel like a “style‑checker” rather than a co‑writer.

The conversation escalated when Altman’s former partner, OpenAI co‑founder Greg Brockman, tweeted a screenshot of a ChatGPT response full of errant em‑dashes, calling it “a bug in the system.” The open‑source community even started to question the value of the style‑engine, suggesting it was a “legacy feature that shouldn’t be in the production codebase.”

3. Altman’s Response – A Direct, User‑Centric Fix

In the MoneyControl article (and on Altman’s own “OpenAI Announcements” Twitter account), Altman cut to the chase: “We listened to you, and from now on, ChatGPT will no longer automatically insert em‑dashes. You’re in control of punctuation, not us.” He added that the change will roll out in the next “ChatGPT 4.0 update” and will affect all versions—Free, Plus, and Enterprise.

The announcement is backed by a short but detailed policy update on the OpenAI website:

• URL: https://openai.com/policies/content-policy
• Key excerpt: “OpenAI’s content generation engines will now defer to user‑supplied formatting instructions. The model no longer applies default style rules such as em‑dash insertion unless explicitly requested.”

Altman’s post emphasized that the new policy does not affect the underlying language model’s core capabilities—only its default formatting behaviour. Users will still see the “style‑engine” available if they choose to enable it via the “Formatting preferences” toggle in the settings panel.

4. The Technical Impact: How It Works

From a technical standpoint, the change removes a “default formatting rule” from the model’s prompt‑engine. The underlying architecture still supports formatting options but now requires explicit instructions. For example:

• Before: “Can you write a short summary?” → GPT‑4 inserts em‑dashes automatically.
• After: “Can you write a short summary? Please do not add em‑dashes.” → GPT‑4 respects the instruction.

OpenAI has also updated the model’s internal “policy‑engine” to treat punctuation style as a user‑supplied token, ensuring that style‑related requests do not override content. The update is technically similar to how OpenAI now handles other user‑defined formatting requests (e.g., bold text, bullet lists).

5. Why This Matters for Different User Segments

• Professional Writers & Editors – The removal means writers no longer have to spend a second editing out unwanted dashes. The model can now adapt to the style guide of any publication (AP, APA, Chicago, etc.) on request.
• Corporate Users – Many companies employ ChatGPT in document drafting pipelines that rely on strict formatting rules. The change eliminates the need for post‑generation cleanup scripts that previously stripped em‑dashes.
• Students & Educators – The new policy allows educators to enforce or discourage certain punctuation marks in assignments, giving them granular control over the AI’s output.
• Casual Users – For those who just want a conversational partner, the change offers a more natural, less “over‑stylized” dialogue.

6. What About the “Style‑Engine” Option?

Altman clarified that the “style‑engine” remains available for users who explicitly want it. It can be toggled on in the settings under “Formatting preferences > Style‑Engine.” The engine now comes with a new option: “Use default em‑dashes” (on/off). So if a user wants to preserve the feature, they can still turn it on. The default state, however, will be off, aligning with the majority of feedback.

7. The Bigger Picture: OpenAI’s User‑First Evolution

OpenAI has been under scrutiny over a range of policy and usability issues—from the GPT‑4 “jailbreak” incident to the controversial “bias mitigation” guidelines. Altman’s latest move is consistent with a broader trend: the company is pivoting toward giving users more agency. The new policy echoes the OpenAI Policy on “User Control over Generated Content” (https://openai.com/policies/user-control-policy), which states that “users are the ultimate authority on how generated content is formatted and presented.”

Altman’s blog post also hinted at upcoming changes that could let users programmatically set punctuation rules via API calls—a feature that could be a game‑changer for SaaS companies integrating ChatGPT into their workflows.

8. Community Reaction – A Mixed Bag

The first wave of responses in the tech community was largely positive. A Twitter thread titled “Sam Altman Removes the Em‑Dash Bomb” garnered over 8,000 likes, with many users praising OpenAI’s willingness to adapt. However, a minority of writers on r/ContentCreators expressed concerns that the removal of a helpful feature might “slow down” certain creative workflows, especially when writing in non‑English languages where em‑dashes are less common.

OpenAI’s engineering team has invited public testing of the new setting through a beta‑testing program, which will be open to all ChatGPT users via the platform’s “Feedback” button. Early testers reported a 40% reduction in post‑generation editing time for editorial teams.

9. Bottom Line

Sam Altman’s announcement that ChatGPT will no longer force em‑dashes into user writing is a watershed moment for the model’s usability. The change reflects OpenAI’s growing emphasis on user control and reflects the community’s feedback loop that has helped shape the AI’s evolution.

For writers, editors, and developers, the new policy means:

1. Greater control over formatting, with no “default” that can override your style guide.
2. Reduced friction when integrating AI into publication pipelines.
3. A clear pathway to toggle style features on or off as needed.

The move is a direct response to a very specific pain point—picking out an unnecessary punctuation mark in a paragraph of a hundred words—yet it carries broader implications for how AI can respect human intent and editorial standards. As OpenAI continues to roll out incremental improvements, users can expect the next wave of updates to further empower them, perhaps allowing even more granular customization of text output.

Whether the em‑dash removal marks the start of a more user‑centric era at OpenAI remains to be seen, but for now, the AI community can breathe a sigh of relief. The days of fighting a stubborn model that insists on its own style are over—at least for the punctuation part of the battle.