AI-Written Content and the punctuation mark that instantly reveals the brutal truth: AI has weaponized the em dash.
What used to be a sleek, stylish way to add rhythm to a sentence has now become the dead giveaway of AI-written content.
AI-Written Content And How the Em Dash Lost Its Charm
Once upon a time, the em dash was a writer’s secret weapon:
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It created conversational pauses that felt natural
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It gave punch to otherwise boring sentences
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It made writing flow without sounding robotic
But then came AI.
Now, every generic Social Media post follows the same tired pattern: “Success isn’t about talent, it’s about persistence, and the willingness to fail, repeatedly.” Sound familiar? Yeah, it’s because 90% of your feed looks exactly like this. The em dash has gone from clever to cliché in record time.
The Real Problem Isn’t the Dash
The issue isn’t punctuation, it’s authenticity. AI has studied us too well. It doesn’t just copy how we write, it amplifies our quirks until they scream “bot.”
The em dash used to be a stylistic choice. Now it’s a neon sign flashing: This is AI-written content.
Which means human writers get punished too. Use an em dash today and you risk looking like a ChatGPT clone, even if you spent hours crafting your post.
AI-Written Content. Test It Yourself
Here’s a fun (and slightly depressing) experiment:
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Open LinkedIn.
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Read the last 10 posts on your feed.
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Count the em dashes.
Now ask yourself, do you know which posts are human, which are AI, and which are “AI-assisted”? Spoiler: you probably can’t.
The Bigger Debate
So here’s the real question: If AI can mimic us this well, does it even matter? Should we care who wrote the content, or should we focus on whether the message is valuable?
Drop your thoughts below. And if you want to cut through the noise (and the em-dash epidemic), let’s talk. Contact us or call me at 1-888-502-3523 or schedule a Discovery Meeting directly in my calendar, because the only thing worse than AI-written content is sounding like AI when you’re not.
Everything we do in business is surrounded by the messages that we put out, however, most of us — if not all of us — did not get into business to write about it. I’m William Dickinson, owner of Cortex Marketing and I specialize in creating compelling content and engaging marketing when business owners find it difficult to create it themselves.
Compelling and Engaging Content, Copywriting and Marketing Development | Get Seen. Get Heard. Get Noticed.
Contact me or call me direct: 1-888-502-3523