Why AI Loves the Em Dash — And Why You Shouldn’t
Written By: Shane Clark on July 3, 2025
The em dash in AI writing is one of the easiest ways to spot machine-generated content. It shows up way too often, usually in places where a comma or period would feel more natural. Even when the content sounds casual, that punctuation pattern gives it away.
If you’re using AI tools to speed up your workflow, that’s fine. But if the writing doesn’t feel human, people notice. So do search engines. In this post, we’ll look at why the em dash in AI writing is a problem and how to fix it for good.
What is an em dash and why does it matter
The em dash in AI writing shows up way more often than it should. It’s a long punctuation mark used to interrupt or add emphasis, but when overused, it makes your content sound stiff. AI tools tend to rely on it because it appears often in their training data.
Most human writers don’t drop it into every other sentence. But AI tools do. That pattern is part of what makes the em dash in AI writing feel unnatural. It pulls readers out of the flow without them realizing why.
How the em dash in AI writing affects your SEO
Search engines are getting better at spotting low-quality or unnatural content. The em dash in AI writing may seem harmless, but it’s one of those small patterns that adds up. When your posts feel robotic or overly formatted, it can hurt how Google views the quality of your site.
Clean, natural writing keeps readers on the page longer. That improves time on site, lowers bounce rates, and sends trust signals to search engines. If your content is packed with awkward punctuation and clunky structure, it works against all of that.
Want your content to perform better in search? Our SEO services include full content reviews to catch issues like this before they start affecting rankings. It’s not just about keywords anymore. It’s about sounding real.
How AI writing tools rely on em dashes
When AI tools create text, they copy patterns from stuff people have written online. Some of that writing uses em dashes in smart ways. But the tools don’t know when to stop. They just keep tossing them in, thinking it sounds clever or punchy.
The real issue is rhythm. AI doesn’t hear the natural flow of a sentence like a person does. So it leans on punctuation that looks dramatic or flexible. And that often means dropping in em dashes where commas would do a better job.
Why it makes your content feel fake
People might not say, “Wow, that’s too many em dashes,” but they can still feel it. The writing seems off. Like it’s trying too hard. That tiny disconnect can hurt your credibility without anyone knowing exactly why.
Search engines and AI detectors pick up on it, too. Some even flag certain punctuation habits as part of their scoring. If your post has em dashes in every other sentence, that could actually work against you.
Want your writing to sound natural? Stick with clean, simple structure. And trust that real human flow doesn’t need fancy punctuation to sound smart.
Better ways to break up a sentence
You don’t need special punctuation to sound real. A simple comma or period usually works just fine. Sometimes, even starting a new sentence makes your point clearer. It also keeps the reader from getting lost halfway through a thought.
If you want a softer pause, try parentheses. They feel more conversational and don’t carry the same weird tone. Or just use a short sentence instead of cramming too much into one. Honestly, less is more.
The goal isn’t to follow grammar rules perfectly. It’s to sound like a person, not a machine. And most people? They write in short, punchy bursts. Not long tangled sentences full of symbols.
What this means for your blog or website
If you’re using AI to speed up content, no shame there. Most people are doing it in some way. But tools like ChatGPT tend to lean hard on patterns that feel unnatural. And punctuation is one of the easiest tells.
When someone lands on your blog and starts skimming, you want them to feel like you get them. If your writing feels cold or stiff, they bounce. Even if they don’t realize why. Trust is built in the tiny details. Like how a sentence flows or where a pause happens.
Editing out the obvious signs of AI doesn’t just improve tone. It helps you connect better. That means lower bounce rates, more time on page, and yeah—better rankings too.
How to spot the em dash in AI writing
You don’t have to be a grammar expert to catch the em dash in AI writing. Just scan through a post and look for long horizontal lines where commas or periods would feel more natural. If it shows up more than once in a paragraph, that’s a red flag.
This kind of punctuation choice is one of the easiest ways to tell that something was machine-written. When the em dash in AI writing appears over and over, it starts to sound forced. It’s better to replace it with cleaner structure that feels more natural.
Em dashes can trigger AI detectors
Most people don’t realize punctuation plays a role in AI detection. But it does. Tools like Originality.ai, GPTZero, and others look for patterns in sentence structure, word choice, and yes—punctuation. When they see frequent em dashes, it raises a flag.
That’s because human writers tend to mix things up. They use a variety of punctuation marks in a more natural flow. AI, on the other hand, often leans on certain habits it picked up during training. The em dash shows up way more often in machine-written content than in human writing.
If your blog post is packed with these, a detector might assume it’s not original. That can hurt your trust score, even if you wrote most of it yourself. So cleaning up your punctuation isn’t just a style choice. It’s part of keeping your content credible in the eyes of both readers and algorithms.
How a strong prompt avoids common AI writing mistakes
A lot of AI-generated content sounds off because the prompt behind it is too vague. When the instructions are open-ended, the AI leans on patterns it picked up from random training data. That means long sentences, repeated transitions, and too much fancy punctuation like the em dash.
That’s why the ShaneWebGuy prompt matters. It gives the AI structure and guardrails. It covers tone, sentence length, formatting, and even asks for small human-like grammar slips to make the writing feel real. It also tells the AI what to avoid, including specific habits that make content feel robotic.
Using a well-built prompt is the difference between bland copy and something that sounds like it came from a real person. It helps the AI stay on track so your content feels natural, clear, and trustworthy.
Sometimes you still have to rewrite it anyway
Even with a solid prompt, AI tools can fall back on old habits. The em dash is one of those habits. You can tell the model to skip it, and it might listen for a while. But give it a longer paragraph, and it slips one in like it can’t help itself.
That’s because AI is trained on massive amounts of internet writing, and a lot of that writing overuses certain styles. So even with clear instructions, the tool sometimes leans on patterns that don’t match your tone. It’s not always a failure in the prompt. Sometimes it’s just how the model works.
When that happens, it’s usually faster to rewrite the block yourself. Break it into shorter lines. Replace the punctuation. Or ask the AI to rephrase it with simpler structure. The key is catching it before you hit publish. That extra check makes a big difference in how human the post feels.
Final thoughts and what to do next
You don’t need to stop using AI. Just don’t let it take over without editing. The em dash might seem small, but when it shows up everywhere, it makes your content feel off. People notice. So do algorithms. And both are less likely to trust what you wrote.
When you finish an AI draft, take a few minutes to humanize it. Cut the clutter. Replace long, awkward sentences with short, clear ones. And skip the fancy punctuation unless it actually helps.
Need help making your content sound real again?
ShaneWebGuy works with businesses to clean up AI-generated posts and bring back the human voice.
Let’s make sure your content builds trust, not confusion.
Why does ChatGPT keep using em dashes?
AI models default to em dashes because they’re common in training data. It adds style, but can feel overused without editing.
How do I stop ChatGPT from using em dashes?
Add “avoid em dashes” to your prompt. You can also request simpler punctuation like commas or periods.
How do I tell ChatGPT not to use dashes at all?
Say something like “do not use em dashes or any type of dash” in your prompt. It usually listens if the request is clear.
What are the dashes in ChatGPT called?
They’re usually em dashes, which are the longest type of dash. AI uses them to show emphasis or to interrupt a sentence for dramatic effect.
How do I make AI writing sound more natural?
Limit em dashes, shorten sentences, and add contractions. Editing tools or rewriting in your voice also helps.
How to detect AI writing?
Clues include excessive em dashes, perfect grammar, and robotic phrasing. Use tools like GPTZero or Originality.ai to check.
How to make AI writing undetectable?
Rewrite the content in your tone, simplify sentence structure, and remove obvious patterns like overused em dashes.
Why is ChatGPT so obsessed with em dashes?
It’s not really obsession. The AI mimics patterns it sees in training data, and em dashes show up often in formal or editorial-style writing, so they end up in the output.
How do I type an em dash?
On Windows: Alt + 0151. On Mac: Shift + Option + Hyphen. Or just copy and paste one: —
