A new ChatGPT update appears to have broken rich-text copying, and extensive cross-platform testing strongly indicates that this is a ChatGPT-side regression, not an end-user problem.
Beginning approximately October 8, 2026, copying newly generated ChatGPT responses into Microsoft Word or Google Docs stopped preserving bold, italic, and bold-italic formatting. Headings, bulleted lists, and numbered lists continue to transfer correctly, but inline character formatting disappears.
This functionality worked perfectly until approximately October 8.
I’ve tested extensively. The results are consistent.
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Two different computers: Same problem.
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Multiple browsers: Same problem.
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Browser extensions disabled: Same problem.
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ChatGPT’s built-in Copy button: Same problem.
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Manual highlighting and Ctrl+C: Same problem.
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Microsoft Word: Same problem.
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Google Docs: Same problem.
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Older ChatGPT responses, generated before October 8: Formatting transfers correctly.
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Newly generated ChatGPT responses: Bold and italics disappear.
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Claude, using the same computers and destination applications: Formatting transfers correctly.
The most compelling evidence is that older ChatGPT responses still copy correctly, while newly generated responses do not. The same computers, browsers, clipboard, and word-processing applications are involved. The critical variable is when ChatGPT generated the response.
This is a serious productivity regression.
I am a professional who relies extensively on ChatGPT to develop complex, heavily formatted scholarly documents. Losing inline formatting during transfer means manually reconstructing boldface, italics, and other emphasis throughout lengthy documents.
That is an enormous waste of time and defeats a significant part of the productivity benefit of using ChatGPT.
OpenAI Support’s response
I reported the problem to OpenAI Support. The initial AI-assisted response indicated that there was no documented widespread outage or confirmed regression and suggested testing different copying methods, browsers, and disabled extensions.
I have now completed that testing. The results consistently point toward ChatGPT itself.
I have requested escalation to engineering and a support ticket or case reference number.
What needs to happen
1. Acknowledge and investigate the regression. Multiple independent tests strongly implicate a recent change to ChatGPT’s rendering or clipboard behavior.
2. Restore proper rich-text clipboard support. Bold, italics, bold-italics, headings, and lists should transfer intact to standard word-processing applications, as they did previously.
3. Stop treating reproducible interface regressions as generic browser troubleshooting problems. Once a problem is demonstrated across multiple computers, browsers, and applications, it warrants engineering investigation.
4. Communicate the status of the issue. Users should not have to guess whether a serious functionality regression has been recognized or whether a fix is forthcoming.
Is anyone else experiencing this since October 8?
I’d particularly like to hear from users who can compare older ChatGPT responses against newly generated ones.
This is functionality we already had. We should not have to sacrifice it with each new ChatGPT update.
OpenAI, please investigate and restore reliable rich-text copying.