Stop Hating on the Em Dash Just Because AI Uses It—It Hasn’t Done Anything to You

Let’s settle this once and for all: the em dash isn’t the enemy.

Somewhere along the way—around the rise of AI-generated content a few years ago—people started rolling their eyes at em dashes. You’ve seen the comments all over LinkedIn. I know I have.

“If a paragraph has too many em dashes, it was probably written by ChatGPT.”

“The em dash is the new semicolon—overused and misunderstood.”

And then there’s the ultimate insult: “Real writers don’t rely on em dashes.”

Welp, as a real writer, ghostwriter, editor, and proud punctuation nerd, I’m here to say: please stop. It’s honestly maddening.

The em dash has been around far longer than artificial intelligence, and it’s earned its place in thoughtful, expressive writing. In fact, I’d argue that the very reason em dashes show up so often in AI-generated content is because they’re effective. They’re versatile. They mimic natural rhythm. They can emphasize, interrupt, clarify—and when used well, they elevate a sentence.

If AI has started using em dashes more, it’s only because it has been trained by human writers and learned them from us.

What the Em Dash Actually Does

Let’s start with the basics. An em dash (—) is not a hyphen (-) or an en dash (–). It’s its own thing. And it’s pretty versatile:

• Replaces commas for emphasis
• Stands in for parentheses when you want less clutter
• Swaps in for a colon when the second half of a sentence feels like a punchline
• Signals interruption or a change in tone

In other words, the em dash is a tool. And like all tools, it’s only as good—or bad—as the person using it.

Real Writers Use Em Dashes—All the Damn Time

Let’s talk about real writers for a moment.

Joan Didion? Loved a well-placed em dash. Emily Dickinson basically built her poetic style around them. Kurt Vonnegut? He appreciated em dashes even more than he loved ellipses (also… my second favorite form of punctuation).

Fiction writers, journalists, essayists—plenty of the greats have made excellent use of this little punctuation powerhouse.

So Why the Sudden Hate?

The truth is, the backlash isn’t really about the em dash—it’s about the fear that we can’t tell the difference between a piece written by person with a pulse and one churned out by a lifeless bot. The em dash has simply become a scapegoat. A lazy marker for content that feels too smooth, too structured, or too stylistically familiar.

But experienced writers don’t use em dashes because we don’t know better. We use them because they work. They create rhythm. They add drama. They reflect how people actually speak—and think.

If I’m being honest, I probably dream in em dashes.

Context Is Everything

Let’s be clear: too much of anything is too much. If every sentence ends in an em dash, yes—it gets old. The same goes for exclamation points, ellipses, semicolons, or even periods in the wrong hands. But smart writing isn’t about avoiding certain marks. It’s about knowing when—and why—to use them.

You know what separates a good human writer from AI? Intention.

AI might use the em dash. A good writer chooses it.

Stop Blaming the Tool

Dismissing the em dash because AI uses it is like claiming paintbrushes shouldn’t be legal because someone used one to copy the Mona Lisa. It’s not about the tool—it’s about the artist. Don’t rob yourself of a powerful tool just because someone else doesn’t know how to correctly use it because they skipped English class one day.

We’re living in a world where writing is getting faster, more automated, and yes—sometimes more predictable. But instead of throwing out the punctuation that makes our voices unique, we should double down on using them well.

In Defense of Style

At Grammar Chic, we help people write better—whether they’re job seekers crafting resumes, CEOs telling their company’s story, or authors bringing a novel to life.

And you know what? We use em dashes.

Not because they’re trendy, but because they fit. Because they help ideas breathe. Because they’re a punctuation mark with personality—and what’s writing without a little character?

I’d Rather Hate on Emojis

The em dash is not a red flag. It’s not a shortcut. It’s not a dead giveaway that a robot is at the helm.

It’s a sexy piece of punctuation that—when used with purpose—can do a lot of heavy lifting in a sentence. So let’s give it the credit it deserves.

Frankly speaking, if you seriously need to hate on something hate on this: 🚀.