How to clean up text from ChatGPT
- Paste the text you copied from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or any other source.
- Choose what to clean: Markdown symbols, long dashes, curly quotes, invisible characters, emoji and bullets.
- Copy the clean text, or click Copy formatted to paste headings, bold text and lists straight into Word, Google Docs or Gmail.
The problem
AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot format their answers in Markdown. The chat window turns **this** into bold and ## this into a heading, but depending on how you copy and where you paste (plain-text email, a CMS, a form, a spreadsheet, a messaging app), you can end up with stray symbols:
## Key points
**Budget:** $5,000 — approved by finance
* Launch date: “early March”
What gets cleaned
| Option | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Remove Markdown | **Budget:** and ## Key points |
Budget: and Key points |
| Long dashes | $5,000 — approved |
$5,000, approved |
| Bullet points | * Launch date |
• Launch date |
| Straighten quotes | “early March” |
"early March" |
| Invisible characters | zero-width and non-breaking spaces | normal spaces or nothing |
| Links | [report](https://…) |
report, or report (URL) |
| Emoji (optional) | ✅ Done 🚀 | Done |
Number ranges such as 2020–2024 keep a simple hyphen instead of getting a comma.
Keep the formatting instead
Sometimes you want the headings, bold text and lists, just without the symbols. Click Copy formatted for Word / Docs / Gmail: the tool converts the Markdown to real formatting and puts it on your clipboard, so pasting into Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Outlook or Gmail gives proper headings and bullet lists.
A note on responsible use
This tool fixes formatting. It doesn’t change your words, and it isn’t designed to hide that text was AI-assisted. If you use AI for school or work, check the facts, rewrite in your own voice and follow your organisation’s AI policy.
Your text is processed in your browser and never sent anywhere. Count words afterwards with the Word Counter.
Frequently asked questions
Why does ChatGPT text have asterisks and hash signs?
AI chatbots write in Markdown, a simple formatting language in which **text** means bold and ## means a heading. The chat window displays it nicely, but when you copy the raw text into some apps the symbols show up. This tool removes them.
How do I remove em dashes from text?
Paste the text and choose how long dashes should be replaced: with a comma, a spaced hyphen or a full stop. Dashes between numbers, such as 2020–2024, become simple hyphens.
What are invisible characters?
Characters such as zero-width spaces, soft hyphens and non-breaking spaces do not show on screen but can break formatting, word counts or form validation. The tool removes them or turns them into normal spaces.
Will this make AI text undetectable?
No, and it is not designed to. It fixes formatting so text pastes cleanly. If you use AI to help you write, review and rewrite the content in your own words, and follow your school's or employer's rules on AI use.