The Chat GPT Hyphen

TL;DR:

The world is embracing AI, but some people may be relying on it a little too heavily. When using conversational tools like ChatGPT, be mindful of telltale signs, like the “Chat GPT Hyphen”, that reveal you’ve copy-pasted straight from the AI. Let AI be your assistant; don’t let it replace your personality.

Introduction

Think of this as a public service announcement, but in reality, it’s just something funny I’ve started to notice every day, especially on LinkedIn. Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a service that allows humans to interact with human-like computers, or chatbots. Effectively simulating a conversation, but like all conversations, they can be one-sided and even wrong. But the “human-like” element makes chatbots very easy to engage with and use.

DISCLAIMER: like AI. I think it’s inevitable. Right now, it can be a great assistant, but maybe one day it could even invigilate a car driving test who knows. This article is simply to raise awareness: not everything written on LinkedIn is written by a human. More posts than you think are pulled directly from AI, rightly or wrongly. I’m not here to judge, just to inform.

Conversational AI

Conversational AI has been around for many years. Most people with a smartphone have access to a “voice assistant” such as Alexa, Bixby, Google Assistant, etc. These have all evolved to use AI and have become “Conversational AI Voice Assistants.”

Now, I was going to add some detail about the percentage of the world using AI, whether passively (e.g., AI-run customer support) or actively, but statistics aren't the point of this article, if you want these numbers ask AI.

Markers & Indicators

Everything is part of a brand. Every brand has that one trait that is ubiquitous with it, Apple’s “unboxing experience,” Volvo’s obsession with safety, KFC’s 11 herbs and spices, the Netflix intro, etc. Every brand has a signature.

Copyright Traps

Brands have used signatures to strengthen their identity for centuries, but they’ve also added features to protect their work from being copied. This could be a brand logo or a unique design, but some brands go further, embedding subtle marks to catch plagiarists.

A famous example comes from cartographers (i.e., map makers). Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, cartographers would insert fake streets (known as “trap streets”), non-existent towns, false bends in roads, made-up islands, etc., to catch others copying their work.

• Moat Lane [London]: a fictional street, which even appeared in Google Maps in 2012.
• Argleton [Lancashire]: a fictious town, currently just empty fields.
• Oxygen Street [Edinburgh]: another invented street.

Easter Eggs

In programming, primarily gaming, coders and developers often sneak easter eggs into their video games. Sometimes they want the end user to find them. Some notable examples include:

• Halo 3: if you played on 25th December and pressed both thumbsticks down, a message would appear saying “Happy Birthday Lauren!”
• GoldenEye 007: during development, the team began programming a new multiplayer level. It was never finished before release but was accidentally left in the code, and players eventually found it.
• Batman Arkham Asylum: developers added a secret room that foreshadowed the sequel. However, they hid it so well they eventually had to reveal the easter egg themselves.

Programming Styles

Even in statistical programming, programmers have their own way of writing code. I’ve seen my code copied many times, even by people who claimed they wrote it themselves. Early in my career, I was advised to make my code unique, because it helps you identify if your work has been lifted by someone else.

My code was never anything special, but I liked the idea that it was easily recognisable by me, and eventually, maybe even by others.

As a side note: if you take no pride in your work and don’t think you have a “style,” I worry for your career.

The AI Marker

Which leads me to the infamous Chat GPT Hyphen. ChatGPT is arguably one of the biggest conversational AI tools out there. But did you know it also has a clear indicator? The world has started to refer to this marker as the “Chat GPT Hyphen.”

Long story short (no pun intended), ChatGPT oddly uses hyphens throughout its responses, but it uses these extra-wide hyphens:

• - regular hyphen
• – wider Microsoft Word version
• — the Chat GPT hyphen

Now you know this, take a look at posts on LinkedIn and notice how many people have literally been copy-pasting from ChatGPT. Next time you sit down for a presentation, keep an eye out for this hyphen, you’ll be surprised how common it’s becoming.

Loss of Personality

I get it, AI is quick. I use it, and it can almost definitely write better English than I can. But to those blindly copying from AI: you're eliminating your personality and passion from your posts.

I’ve seen posts from people I’ve followed for years suddenly start blindly copying AI, completely changing their tone, removing their passion, and to be honest, I don’t follow them anymore.

Notable Examples

Don’t worry, I’m not going to call out individuals on LinkedIn (you can do that). But this phenomenon has been spotted at some huge companies, so I’ll call them out instead:

• PrettyLittleThing: A clothing brand that announced a rebrand filled with those pesky hyphens. This is where the term “Chat GPT hyphen” really started.
• Chicago Sun-Times: In May 2025, the newspaper published a “summer reading list” featuring fictitious book titles attributed to real authors. The content was generated using AI tools and included stylistic tells, like those hyphens.
• Duolingo: This one’s less about hyphens. Their CEO recently declared the company “AI-first” with plans to replace contractors with AI. The public backlash was swift, and their social media accounts were quickly wiped as they reevaluated their announcement, or maybe just how they communicated it.

Conclusion

AI is here to stay, in fact, it’s already changing every industry. If, like me, you embrace it, just don’t embrace it so much that you lose your personality.

P.S. I am currently hiring a Senior Statistical Programmer, see the role here - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4233606415