Why I Love a Good Em Dash, and How to Get Rid of It

You know why AI uses an em dash? Because it’s awesome! Sure, a comma can get the job done; even the misunderstood semicolon can work its way in there too to create that intentional pause our brain needs when reading. What’s often missing with other punctuation? A sidebar—often used to throw in a punchline that lets the reader know there might be more than one way to think of things—that this part has elevated importance. What other punctuation can shift the tone of the conversation so effortlessly?

If you have shied away from using an em dash, Merriam-Webster gives plenty of examples for using the punctuation power house. First, we’ll start with their definition.

HINT: Many interfaces will turn two dashes (- -, without the space) into an em dash automatically.

Origin Story

An em dash is the width of the capital letter ‘M’ in many fonts—hence the name ’em dash’ that is commonly used.

Em Dash vs. En Dash

While the em dash is used like a comma or parenthesis, the en dash is used as a separator between numbers, dates, or other notations to signify “(up) to and including,” or “between _ and _.” The most common way to think of it in use is as a replacement for the word “to.” Example: Happy Hour | 6 pm – 8 pm.

HINT: The en dash can also be used to replace a hyphen in compound adjectives when at least one of the elements is a two-word compound. (As suggested by Merriam-Webster.) Example: the pre–Websterburg Bakery era.

Getting Rid of the Em Dash In AI Tools

So if my glorifying the em dash didn’t work, and you still want it outta there, here are a couple of tips:

ChatGPT

In theory, you should just be able to ask ChatGPT to “remember” not to use em dashes. However, some users have expressed annoyance with OpenAI because even though users turn off the use of em dashes, they still appear. On an OpenAI discussion forum, a user suggested including the strict adherence to no em dashes as part of a longer prompt. See if that does the trick.

DeepSeek

Molek provides a ton of useful prompts for DeepSeek-related AI. Here are the ones specific to formatting for em dash:

– em dash overuse fix (OOC: Encourage {{char}} to limit the use of em dashes and focus on clear, structured dialogue. Use punctuation that improves clarity, like periods or commas, to maintain flow and coherence in the narrative.)

– restrict asterisks and em-dashes in dialogue formatting (OOC: {{char}} should avoid asterisks and using em-dashes in dialogue. Integrate actions into prose for a clearer narrative structure.)

Have a better hack or one to add for a specific tool? Let me know.

This is your CaptAIn speaking.

If you need help navigating the ins and outs of AI, let’s connect. Whether you just want to ensure your bot’s output doesn’t look and sound like one, you want to play with new AI-based tools to streamline asset production, or you need help training your AI to deliver the right results, I can help.