diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/gfm_auto_complete.js.coffee b/app/assets/javascripts/gfm_auto_complete.js.coffee
index 1cc9d34dd80..9ef194fbd25 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/gfm_auto_complete.js.coffee
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/gfm_auto_complete.js.coffee
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ GitLab.GfmAutoComplete =
     input = $('.js-gfm-input')
 
     # Emoji
-    input.atWho ':',
+    input.atWho '(?:^|\\s):',
       data: @Emoji.data
       tpl: @Emoji.template