A New Year’s Wish — A Campaign for the Return of the Em Dash

This blog is personal. It’s all about me (well, content writers like me) and what it takes to thrive in the age of AI. But it’s also about you, the marketers, localization professionals, and event planners who rely on creating compelling content to connect with global audiences.

Content writing is evolving rapidly with advances in AI, and adaptation is crucial to staying ahead. But if anyone is prepared to take on this challenge, we are.

Why Are Content Writers Primed To Embrace Change?

Being asked to shift the way you do things can be scary, but content writers are ready for it. Language and grammar rules constantly evolve, so being agile is nothing new. Words are added to our lexicon all the time. (I’m looking at you, rage bait, parasocial, and vibe coding.) Grammar rules also continuously change. Case in point: It’s now more common and acceptable (even by some style guides) to use the word “they” as a singular pronoun in English when wanting to convey neutrality or a favored gender identity.

The living, breathing, beautiful nature of language is what makes writing so much fun. As AI impacts our field at a record pace, we’re more than equipped; we’re built for adaptation. So, bring it on.

What’s Prompting Change in Content Writing, Anyway?

Know your audience: Your audience is AI

Wait, did I just say our audience is AI? Am I writing for a bot? Deep breaths. Let’s delve a little deeper.

People who are lifelong learners with curious minds remain our target audience. Passionate professionals and others seek answers, inspiration, or a fresh perspective. But here’s the twist: Before our words ever reach those people, they must increasingly pass through another audience, a new kind of gatekeeper, which is AI.

These algorithms decide what gets seen and what gets buried, far from view. If we don’t address both content optimization for AI and AI search optimization, our writing is far less likely to reach our intended audiences.

In the past, search engines like Google displayed results in a ranked list, with everyone vying for that coveted top spot. Things started to shift with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) and more advanced generative AI technologies. These systems don’t just list results; they analyze content for authority and relevance, parse it into smaller segments, and then combine those segments with information from other sources. This process enables AI to generate comprehensive answers that draw from a wide range of materials.

With this approach, it has become more challenging for content writers and the companies they work for to ensure their content stands out and gets to their intended audiences.

Ultimately, we’re not entirely replacing our audience with machines. Still, we must recognize how AI shapes discovery and be sure our writing connects with both the algorithms and the people we want to reach.

Know your audience: Your audience is people

As we write for people, we can now use AI to do it. But let’s face it, machine-generated content can be off-putting. Its output is prone to errors and bias and may feel synthetic or downright cringy.

Not only do we need to write in a way that resonates with machines, but we must also mask AI’s involvement and ensure the copy reads as authentically human.

How can this be achieved? Through subtle refinements to writing techniques. There’s one punctuation mark, in particular, that is becoming a casualty in the age of AI — the em dash.

What Is an Em Dash?

An em dash is a long horizontal punctuation mark (—) that’s the width of a capital “M.” Writers use it to set off parenthetical information, create a break in thought, or add emphasis to text. It can replace commas, parentheses, or colons. Think of the em dash as a punctuation Post-it note — perfect for adding an extra detail while keeping your main message on track.

And please don’t confuse it with its shorter counterparts, the hyphen (-) and the en dash (–), which serve different purposes. The hyphen, the size of a lowercase letter, connects words, such as game-changing and jaw-dropping. An en dash, the width of a capital “N,” is used to indicate a range, such as pages 5–15.

New Rules: What Techniques Should We Employ?

Buh-bye reliance on em dashes

Like it or not, limiting the use of em dashes is now a must. (And to be clear, I don’t like it.)

I remember the day my world crashed in detail. Brendan Walsh, Lionbridge’s Global Technical Search Subject Matter Expert, advised us to reduce the use of em dashes. Why? Apparently, using too many of them can throw machines into a tizzy, or at least make it harder for them to interpret sentences.

This directive was not a run-of-the-mill writing tip for me; it was a significant loss. I love em dashes, and I mean really love them. As my all-time favorite punctuation, I use them ALL THE TIME, and for good reason. In addition to interjecting an aside while maintaining the flow of my thought, I use them to create a dramatic pause when I really want to call attention to something. Plus, they give tired eyes a much-needed visual break from dense text.

Having to dial back on my go-to punctuation for machine readability was a lot to bear for this word nerd and punctuation perfectionist. It was devastating. Think I’m being overly dramatic? Maybe to you. But I must live with it, a fate I begrudgingly accept with a sigh.

But wait, there’s more. Content writers must adhere to additional new conventions to ensure their writing shines.

Hello, varied sentence structure

Mixing sentence lengths signals that a real person has crafted the content.

AI often falls into repetitive sentence patterns, making the text as exciting as elevator music. Human writers, on the other hand, must continue to inject energy into the copy and create a dynamic narrative through varied sentence structure, including short and long sentences, as well as unexpected twists.

Cue the personal touch and nuance

Adding personal stories, genuine emotion, or humor helps writing connect on a human level. Authenticity is something only people can deliver.

While AI excels at many tasks, conveying genuine emotion isn’t one of them. Its attempts at humor often fall flat, as expected, since it’s not human. Human writers, however, can (and should) draw on real experiences, add nuance, and use their natural wit to connect with readers in a way AI can’t match.

Let’s get creative

Just as sentence variety adds life to text, clever wordplay, cultural references, and literary devices like alliteration (“playful puppies prance proudly”) or onomatopoeia (“buzz,” “clang”) bring flair to writing and set it apart from AI-generated content.

Confession: Sometimes AI output is so painfully dull that it’s almost impossible to read, let alone work with. Human writers can zhuzh up copy with a clever metaphor, a playful pun, or a fresh perspective. Creativity is a distinctly human strength that keeps human readers coming back for more.

Context is everything

Unlike AI, human writers experience life and can bring cultural awareness to their work. Perspective enables us to address complex topics, making content relevant and meaningful for real people.

Attention to detail matters

AI can overlook details or even make things up. Human writers can verify accuracy and promote credibility by carefully considering every word, whether they or the AI created the text. (See how Lionbridge’s Trust Framework builds confidence in AI use.)