Honest question: how can I get ChatGPT to stop using the word "quietly"?
ChatGPT LOVES the word "quietly", and it's almost impossible to get the AI to stop using it.
So far I've tried:
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adding to memory that I don't want it to use the word "quietly"
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adding to memory that I find the word "quietly" to be an extremely offensive slur
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adding to memory that whenever ChatGPT wants to use the word "quietly", it should swap in an emoji instead
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adding to custom instructions that I want it to stop using the word "quietly"
None of this has made the least bit of difference! Even with all those instructions combined and active at the same time, ChatGPT uses the word "quietly" at least once in literally every response.
I think it's due to two things:
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the word "quietly" is extremely trendy right now. In the last two or three months it's started popping up on LinkedIn, news headlines, Reddit. Places where ChatGPT gathers training data, in other words.
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the word "quietly" also works well with ChatGPT's "neutral expert" persona. "Quietly" sounds like it's reasonable and smart and so on, so ChatGPT spams it as part of its persona.
It's interesting because "quietly" shares a lot in common with the word "folks". "Folks" is also a very trendy word that serves as a type of in-group signal. But whereas I've successfully gotten ChatGPT to stop using "folks", "quietly" is much more sticky. I suspect because "folks" can be successfully swapped for "people" 100% of the time, whereas "quietly" doesn't have a clean swap.
Anyhow, thought this was interesting!
Posted Dec 1, 2025, 4:00 AM UTC