Remove the asterisks from AI text
Paste an answer and copy back clean text, with no asterisks, # signs or table lines. Pick a chat app instead to keep bold that works there.
This text is long, so only the first part is shown here. Copying and downloading use all of it.
This text is long, so only the first part is shown here. Copying and downloading use all of it.
What Plain text does
Plain text removes every Markdown symbol but keeps the text easy to read:
- Headings sit on their own lines, with a blank line around them
- Bullets become • and numbered lists keep their numbers
- Bold and italic markers disappear and the words stay
- Links become the link text followed by the address in parentheses
- Each table row becomes one line, like “Region: Europe · Deals: 27”
The wording doesn’t change. Only the symbols go.
Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram and Discord
Chat apps have their own formatting rules. Slack and WhatsApp use one asterisk for bold, so the double asterisks from ChatGPT show up as symbols. Telegram and Discord read double asterisks, but neither shows Markdown tables.
Pick the app under “Where will you paste it?” and MDMelt writes the formatting that app understands. Bold stays bold after you send, and tables become aligned text.
LinkedIn and X
LinkedIn posts and most X posts have no bold or italics. Pick LinkedIn / X and you get clean text without symbols.
If you want bold anyway, turn on “Use bold letters”. MDMelt then swaps bold words for bold-looking Unicode characters that survive the paste. They’re off by default for a reason: they’re really math symbols, so screen readers may read them letter by letter or skip them, and search may not find those words. Some letters have no bold version, including Korean, Japanese and some accented letters, so those stay regular.
Questions
Why does ChatGPT put asterisks in its answers?
It writes in Markdown, where two asterisks around a word mean bold. The chat window shows bold text, but anywhere that doesn’t read Markdown shows the asterisks as they are.
Can I remove the asterisks and keep the bold?
Yes, if the place you’re pasting into supports formatting. Pick Word, Google Docs or Email and use Copy with formatting.
Does it change my wording?
No. Only the Markdown symbols change. Words, numbers and their order stay as they were.
Guides
- How to paste AI text into Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram and Discord
Chat apps each read their own formatting marks, and Markdown's double asterisks only work in some. App-by-app rules, plus LinkedIn's fake bold.
- Why ChatGPT answers are full of asterisks
The asterisks and # signs in a pasted AI answer are Markdown. What each symbol means, why it survives the paste, and how to clean it up.
- How to keep AI formatting in Word and Google Docs
Getting headings, lists and tables from ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini into Word or Google Docs. The built-in options first, then when a converter helps.
- What is an .md file, and how do you open one?
An .md file is plain text written in Markdown. How to open one on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, and why AI tools keep handing them to you.