ChatGPT has begun refusing to write text that imitates the distinctive style of famous authors, whether living or dead, according to testing by Ars Technica and Engadget. This marks a shift from previous behaviour, as a recent study by publication No Latency had found the chatbot did not refuse such requests when the author in question was deceased, suggesting OpenAI has recently tightened its policy across the board.

Engadget's own test asked ChatGPT to write a mystery story in the style of Agatha Christie, and the bot responded that it could not closely imitate her "distinctive style" because her work remains under copyright, though it still offered to write something with similar qualities while remaining original. This suggests the refusal functions more as a legal disclaimer than an outright block, since the chatbot readily produces text evoking an author's characteristics without directly claiming to copy their style. The change is widely seen as a move by OpenAI to reduce legal exposure amid the mounting copyright lawsuits it already faces.