Sam Altman says ChatGPT now avoids em dashes; social media reacts with mixed views

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said on Friday that its AI chatbot ChatGPT should now follow user instructions to avoid em dashes, describing it as a “small but happy win”. His comment sparked a lively debate on X, where users shared mixed reactions and real-time experiences that did not always match the promised improvement.

Users welcome the update but raise doubts

Altman’s announcement drew interest from many who have long requested more control over the chatbot’s writing style. Some celebrated the update, while others questioned whether the fix was working at all.

Simon Hedlin, an X user, said the change could help users who enjoy em dashes but do not want to be accused of relying on unedited AI-generated text. His message suggested cautious optimism among those who see punctuation preferences as a subtle marker of human authorship.

Screenshots show continued glitches?

Despite the official claim that the issue was resolved, several users posted screenshots showing the chatbot continuing to use the punctuation mark even after being told not to.

Another X user Ethan Dong described his experience as a “big but disappointing loss” and shared a screenshot of ChatGPT ignoring his instruction. Another user, Dr Rishabh Jain, said he had asked the model to stop using em dashes but received a reply that included one. He called it “peak betrayal”, highlighting ongoing frustration from users who expected more precise compliance.

Confusion over how to enable the feature

Not all users were aware of how to activate the setting. One user, posting under the handle @sandy_carter, asked how to enable the instruction and said they had been trying without success.

The conversation also included examples of the chatbot itself using an em dash when responding to requests not to do so, further underlining the inconsistency that some users continue to encounter.

Here’s what happened when I tried to test the change

When I asked ChatGPT not to use em dashes, it replied, “Got it — I’ll avoid using em dashes from now on.”