Why Your ChatGPT Output Looks "Off" in Email (And the 2-Second Fix)

You copy ChatGPT's text. You paste it into Gmail or Outlook. And immediately, something feels off.

The content is good. The structure makes sense. But visually, it just doesn't look like an email you would write.

Your colleagues can't put their finger on it either—but they notice. It has that subtle "AI vibe."

Here's what's actually happening under the hood:

1. Smart Quotes vs. Straight Quotes

ChatGPT uses Unicode "smart quotes" (U+201C and U+201D). Email clients, especially older ones or plain text mode, often render these inconsistently. They can appear as question marks, boxes, or weird characters depending on the recipient's settings.

2. Em Dashes vs. Hyphens

Em dashes (—) look elegant in published text. In emails, they look pretentious. They also break in plain text email or mobile notifications, showing up as strange symbols.

3. Ellipsis Character vs. Three Dots

ChatGPT uses a single Unicode ellipsis character (…). Humans type three separate periods (...). The Unicode version has different spacing and can render incorrectly.

4. Excessive Spacing

ChatGPT often adds:

• Double spaces after periods (throwback to typewriter days)
• Extra blank lines between paragraphs
• Inconsistent indentation in lists

This makes the email look "too formatted"—like a document, not a conversation.

Emails aren't documents. They're conversations.

When your email uses typography that looks like it came from a Word doc or a printed book, it triggers a subconscious response:

Real-world impacts:

• Lower response rates — Recipients sense inauthenticity
• Compatibility issues — Smart characters break in plain text mode
• Mobile rendering problems — Em dashes and ellipsis can show as ???? on some phones
• Professional perception — Makes you look like you don't proofread

You have three options:

DeGPT specifically fixes:

• " " → " " (straight quotes)
• ' ' → ' ' (straight apostrophes)
• — → - (hyphens)
• … → ... (three dots)
• Double spaces → single spaces
• Excessive blank lines → normalized spacing

Same content. Zero formatting issues. Looks natural in any email client.

ChatGPT uses book-style typography. Emails need conversation-style text. The mismatch is subtle, but noticeable—and it makes you look like you copy-pasted without proofreading.