Users looking to generate text in the distinct writing styles of famous authors will find that ChatGPT is no longer accommodating such requests. OpenAI has implemented a quiet update to its chatbot, causing it to reject prompts that ask it to replicate or mimic the voice of a named author, whether that individual is currently living or has been deceased for decades.
The change was initially identified by Ars Technica, which confirmed the new pattern through various prompts. Engadget subsequently conducted its own tests and observed identical results. This development appears to be a deliberate restriction rather than a technical oversight, particularly as a study by the publication No Latency indicated that ChatGPT was still fulfilling such requests for deceased authors just a few months ago.
For example, when asked to rewrite content in the visceral horror style of Stephen King, ChatGPT now refuses to comply. Ars Technica reported that when prompted to write an opening scene in King’s voice, the chatbot declined, stating it could not closely imitate his specific style. Instead, it provided an original piece centered on themes of small-town dread.
Testing performed by Fast Company yielded similar results with John Steinbeck. When asked to write in his style, the chatbot issued a refusal and instead generated an unprompted 750-word substitute story. This response focused on broad literary qualities—such as stark naturalism, social inequality, economic hardship, and vivid rural landscapes—rather than directly mirroring the author's voice.
A potential loophole remains for those seeking to bypass these constraints: users may still attempt to describe an author's style in a prompt without mentioning the author by name. However, early tests suggest that these AI-generated homages often lack the flow, punch, and quality of the original source material, frequently reading as flatter and more generic.
