diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/no_empty_groups.yml b/changelogs/fragments/no_empty_groups.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0c80f64650
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/no_empty_groups.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+    - avoid empty groups in ansbile-inventory JSON output as they will be interpreted as hosts
diff --git a/lib/ansible/cli/inventory.py b/lib/ansible/cli/inventory.py
index 788a9fa923..6590c98103 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/cli/inventory.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/cli/inventory.py
@@ -329,6 +329,8 @@ class InventoryCLI(CLI):
                 results[group.name]['vars'] = self._get_group_variables(group)
 
             self._remove_empty(results[group.name])
+            if not results[group.name]:
+                del results[group.name]
 
             return results