GPT Cleanup

Remove ChatGPT Formatting

ChatGPT Formatting Remover is a free tool that turns ChatGPT's Markdown output into clean text. It removes **, ##, list markers, pipe tables and code fences, or — in "For Docs & Word" mode — copies the text as real headings, bold and lists so it pastes correctly into Google Docs, Word, Notion and email. Hidden characters are removed at the same time. Nothing leaves your browser.

Free · No sign-up · 100% client-side · Also works for Claude and Gemini text

Original Text
Cleaned Text

Why ChatGPT Text Looks Broken When You Paste It

ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all write their answers in Markdown — a plain-text syntax where **bold** means bold, ## Heading means a heading, and - item means a bullet. The chat window renders these symbols into real formatting on screen, but copying the response puts the raw symbols on your clipboard's plain-text layer, while a separate rich-text (HTML) layer carries the actual bold, headings and lists.

Which layer you get depends on where you paste. A plain-text paste into Google Docs, a message to Slack or Teams, most email compose boxes, a CMS field, or a spreadsheet cell grabs the plain-text layer, so you see the literal ** and # characters. A normal rich-text paste into Google Docs, Word or Gmail grabs the HTML layer and renders it correctly. Notion partially renders Markdown on paste, converting some syntax but leaving other symbols as text.

Before and After

The text below is what ChatGPT actually sends to your clipboard's plain-text layer, and what Plain text mode outputs after cleaning.

Before (raw ChatGPT text)

## Summary

**Key points:**
- Revenue is up 12%
- Costs are flat

| Metric | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue | $120k |

After (Plain text mode)

Summary

Key points:
• Revenue is up 12%
• Costs are flat

Metric	Value
Revenue	$120k

Plain Text or Formatted — Which Mode to Use

Formatted mode copies rich text (real bold, headings and lists) for destinations that render it. Plain text mode strips the Markdown symbols down to wording for destinations that would otherwise show them literally.

DestinationRecommended mode
Google DocsFormatted
Microsoft WordFormatted
NotionFormatted
Gmail / OutlookFormatted
Slack / TeamsPlain text
CMS / WordPress classic editorPlain text
Code, spreadsheets, formsPlain text
SMS / social mediaPlain text

What Gets Removed and What Stays

Markdown elementPlain modeFormatted mode
**bold** / _italic_text without asterisks/underscoresbold / italic
# headingheading text onlyreal heading
- item / 1. item• item / 1. itemreal list
| a | b | tabletab-separated rowsreal table
``` code fences ```code kept, fences removedcode block
[text](url)text onlyhyperlink
> quotetext onlyblock quote
--- ruleremovedhorizontal rule

Line breaks, paragraphs and the wording itself are untouched in both modes. Hidden characters — zero-width spaces, byte order marks and non-breaking spaces — are removed in both modes as well.

How to Paste ChatGPT Text into Google Docs or Word Without the Symbols

  1. Copy and paste. Copy the answer from ChatGPT and paste it into the panel above.
  2. Choose For Docs & Word. Switch the copy mode to For Docs & Word, then click Clean.
  3. Copy and paste normally. Click Copy, then paste into your document with a normal Ctrl/Cmd+V — not paste-without-formatting. The real bold, headings and lists come through correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Removing and formatting ChatGPT's Markdown output

Why does ChatGPT add asterisks and hashes to its answers?
ChatGPT writes its answers in Markdown, a plain-text formatting syntax where ** means bold, # means a heading, and - marks a list item. The chat window renders those symbols as real formatting, but when you copy the response, the raw Markdown symbols travel with the plain-text layer of your clipboard. Any destination that does not render Markdown shows the symbols literally.
How do I remove ChatGPT formatting when pasting into Google Docs?
Paste the ChatGPT text into the box above, switch to For Docs & Word, click Clean, then click Copy. Pasting into Google Docs with a normal Ctrl/Cmd+V now gives you real bold text, real headings and real bullet points instead of asterisks and hash marks — no plain-text paste needed.
Does this work with Claude and Gemini too, not just ChatGPT?
Yes. Claude, Gemini and most other AI chat tools also write Markdown, so the same **, #, list and table symbols show up when you copy their output. The cleaner removes them the same way regardless of which AI wrote the text.
Does removing the formatting change my wording?
No. Only the Markdown symbols and hidden characters are touched. Every word, sentence and line break is left exactly as it was written.
Can I keep the bold text and headings instead of losing them?
Yes — that is what For Docs & Word mode is for. Instead of deleting the ** and # symbols, it copies the text as rich text (HTML), so Google Docs, Word, Notion, Gmail and Outlook paste real bold, real headings and real lists. Plain text mode is the one that strips the symbols down to plain wording.
Does it also remove hidden characters like zero-width spaces?
Yes, in both modes. Zero-width spaces (U+200B), byte order marks (U+FEFF), non-breaking spaces (U+00A0) and the other invisible characters ChatGPT's interface adds are removed at the same time as the Markdown symbols, and curly quotes, em dashes and ellipsis are normalized to ASCII.
Is this free and does my text get uploaded anywhere?
It is free, with no sign-up and no usage limit. The cleaning runs entirely in your browser as JavaScript, so your text is never sent to a server.
What happens to tables?
In plain text mode, a Markdown pipe table is converted to tab-separated rows, which pastes cleanly into a spreadsheet or a plain-text editor. In For Docs & Word mode, the table is copied as an actual HTML table, so it pastes as a real, gridded table in Google Docs or Word.

Related Tools

ChatGPT Text Cleaner

The general-purpose cleaner for any AI text — same engine, all AI tools.

ChatGPT Watermark Remover

Remove the hidden watermarks — invisible characters and data-start / data-end attributes — from ChatGPT text.

Guide: Clean ChatGPT Output Before Pasting

What rides along when you copy from ChatGPT and how to clean it up first.