Paste ChatGPT text cleanly

Why this happens

Large language models write their answers internally in Markdown — a plain-text syntax for headings, bold text and lists. The chat interface renders that syntax nicely, but copying often puts the raw Markdown text on your clipboard, not formatted text. Paste it into a field that doesn't render Markdown — most email clients, many Slack fields, most CMS editors — and the characters stay visible.

Honest alternatives — before you install Piuma

1. Clean it up by hand

   Manually delete the asterisks and hash marks. Fine for three lines, tedious and error-prone for a long answer.

2. Copy through a Markdown editor

   Paste into a tool that renders Markdown (Notion, say), select it there, and copy it out as rich text. Works, but it's a detour through an app you have to keep open just for this.

3. Paste directly and hope

   Some destination fields support Markdown paste, some don't — inconsistently, even within the same app (a Slack message field vs. a Slack canvas, for instance). Not a reliable path.

4. Build your own script

   Technically inclined users build their own Shortcuts or browser extensions that filter out Markdown characters. It works, but it's a marginal effort for a problem nearly everyone working with AI answers actually has.

For power users: clean the clipboard with a Shortcut

In the Shortcuts app, create a new shortcut and add the Piuma action “Clean Clipboard”. Give the shortcut its own keyboard shortcut — one keypress then tidies the clipboard. Paste as usual with ⌘V afterwards, with no Accessibility permission required.