Gen Z advises ditching this one thing if you don’t want your writing to scream ‘AI’

A popular punctuation mark has unexpectedly landed at the centre of an AI-related debate, thanks to Gen Z’s latest take on spotting ChatGPT-written text. The em dash — a versatile tool used by writers for emphasis, expansion, or interruption — is now being dubbed the “ChatGPT hyphen” by young internet users.

The trend gained traction after podcasters Daisy Reed and Sapna Rao, co-hosts of the “LuxeGen Podcast,” brought it up during a recent episode. The clip quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter), where one user shared the snippet with the caption, “The fact that Zoomers are unironically referring to the em dash as ‘the ChatGPT hyphen’ is wild.”

Reed pointed out a specific instance that caught her eye, clothing brand PrettyLittleThing had just announced a rebrand, and one of the top comments under the new ad copy read: “Including the ChatGPT hyphen is insane.”

The duo used the opportunity to jokingly issue a public service announcement: if you’re trying to avoid being accused of relying on artificial intelligence for your writing, remove those em dashes.

Rao added, “If you’re at school and you’re using [ChatGPT] for your essays, take out the hyphens. I can always tell.” She clarified that she wasn’t anti-AI, as long as the user starts with their own words. “Person, ChatGPT, person,” she said, suggesting a balanced approach to using the tool for editing rather than full-on writing.

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Reed and Rao also shared their theory about what gives away AI-generated text: spacing. According to them, ChatGPT often uses em dashes without any spaces on either side — a formatting choice they claim reveals the machine behind the message.

Take a look at the video:

However, it’s worth noting that spacing conventions for em dashes vary depending on the style guide in use. For instance, AP style — commonly followed by newspapers and magazines — inserts a space before and after the em dash. On the other hand, sources like Merriam-Webster and most book publishers omit those spaces altogether.

While there’s no universal rule, it seems the humble em dash has now become a cultural clue in the AI era — whether fair or not.

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