Sam Altman As the CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, he may be a billionaire and one of the most influential leaders in tech, but his communication style looks a lot like a Gen Z text chain: no capital letters, minimal punctuation and a deliberately casual tone.
Internal SMS through his disclosure Legal dispute with Elon Musk It shows that Altman often insists on all lower case. Even in high-stakes moments, like during the chaos of November 2023, when he Briefly ousted as CEO.
This style choice contrasts sharply with other tech giants on the same exchange, such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Chairman of OpenAI Brett Taylorwhose messages display a more traditional focus on grammar and syntax.
Sam Altman texts Satya Nadella and Bret Taylor
November 19, 2023, 11:49 am – 12:03 pm pic.twitter.com/ZBoEghoEEb
— Internal technical emails (@TechEmails) January 11, 2026
A browse through Altman’s social feed today shows the same mix: some posts are formally structured, while others don’t contain a single capital letter. This is his habit admit exist X Back to 2023:
“Slightly interesting observation: I always use capital letters when writing longhand, but usually only type them when I’m doing something that reminds me of school.”
For a 40-year-old, the look of lowercase letters may be a personal quirk with little professional impact, but for Gen Z employees, experts say an unwillingness to put in the effort to hold down the Shift key could have real career consequences.
“When I see writing without capitalization, it looks sloppy, unprofessional and a little lazy,” said Tara Ceranic Salinas, a business ethics professor at the University of San Diego’s North School of Business. wealth. “How difficult is it to capitalize?”
Lowercase Letters at Work: When Will Gen Z’s Habits Be Really Accepted?
If you’ve ever texted with a member of Generation Z or Alpha, you may have noticed that capital letters and formal sentence structure feel almost taboo. Writing in perfect prose can come off as too intense or serious.
Salinas said young people feel comfortable in the informality conveyed by all-lowercase communication, making every conversation feel like a conversation with a close friend. But bringing that tone directly into the workforce can backfire.
“Unfortunately, the people you work with can’t all be treated as friends, and communication styles need to make some adjustments,” she adds.
Some younger workers may have learned this lesson the hard way. Nearly six in 10 employers say they have Fired recently hired Gen Z employees— citing a lack of professionalism, organizational and communication skills as reasons.
The rise of remote work Further blurring the lines between professional and personal life, making informal syntax between generations more common on communication platforms like Slack and Teams.
Gen Zer Zada Brown, brand strategist at Ogilvy New York, said: “There is a standard to uphold when it comes to work-appropriate conversations and showing respect for colleagues, and there’s nothing wrong with using ‘u’ instead of ‘you’; it’s a sign that work behaviors are integrated into everyday behavior.” wealth.
“If a staff member can participate in a meeting via the Teams app while driving a child to a doctor’s appointment, using informal grammar or online abbreviations does not appear to be a significant violation.”
Nonetheless, workplace norms are not universal. In some offices, informal communication happens from the top down, so it’s best to wait and see if your boss or senior leader will do it first.
“If you work where the CEO uses Slack, follow their lead,” Salinas said. “If they utilize capital letters, do the same thing. If they primarily use emojis, reply immediately with emojis.”
Faced with a tough job market, Gen Z is kicking the habit of lowercase letters
Freshly graduated college students are faced with The job market is becoming more competitive Amid economic uncertainty and rapid change driven by artificial intelligence. This makes it more important than ever to stand out for the right reasons.
Using incorrect grammar in a cold email, resume or cover letter may result in a failed application Fall to the bottom of the pile.
“The message it sends is that this person is not willing to put in the effort to hold down the Shift key,” Salinas said. “From there, potential employers may infer other ideas about the individual; if they can’t do this simple thing to impress, what does that say about them at work?”
Some Gen Z employees appear to have taken this advice to heart and are rethinking their digitally native habits.
“Why are we whispering? This is specifically for texting,” one Gen Z TikToker said in one post. viral video About disabling auto-capitalization. “Re-open it.”
“I just turned the auto-cap back on,” another wrote. “I’m officially an adult.”
However, not everyone agrees.
“I DECLINE!!!” one commenter wrote, garnering more than 19,000 likes. “Only when I send an email or text someone important.”