OpenAI has been steadily rolling out new features for ChatGPT, and one of the latest updates is small but useful: the ability to search back through the conversations you’ve had with the AI chatbot.
If you want to revisit a conversation you had about party ideas for kids, or if you want to start a debate about the ethics of an AI, or if you want to continue using ChatGPT to spice up your emails to your boss: where you also want to go back to, it is now easier to do with the search function.
The feature is available now, on web and mobile, for ChatGPT Plus users who pay $20 per month. says Open AI the rollout to free users will take a few weeks, so if you’re not a paying subscriber you might not see it yet.
How to search through your ChatGPT conversations
The new search tool for ChatGPT on the Internet.
Credit: Lifehacker
Once the search feature goes live in your ChatGPT account, you will have access to it too on the internet or in the mobile apps for Android And iOS– although at this stage it’s not particularly advanced in what it can do. All your conversations with the bot will be synced between web and mobile, if you’re logged in with the same account.
On the web, click the magnifying glass icon in the top left corner (if you can’t see it, click the icon consisting of two joined rectangles to reveal the side panel). A new dialog box will appear where you can type the words you’re looking for: As you type, matches will appear for both chat titles and the text within them.
You’ll see the dates next to the chats in the results, and to visit a previous chat you can just click on it. You can also use one New chat from the search dialog, as long as the search box is empty. For the time being, there are no advanced options, for example to combine search terms or to search for one word while excluding another word.
On the mobile app, the search box is in the top right corner of the interface, but you have to tap the sidebar button (two horizontal lines, top left) to see it. The same search functionality applies here and you will see matching results as you type your search terms. You can also just tap ChatGPT to start a new chat.
Manage your ChatGPT conversation history
You can manage what ChatGPT remembers about you.
Credit: Lifehacker
Being able to search through your ChatGPT conversations may make you more inclined to save them for future use, but you can delete a chat at any time on the web: click the three dots next to the chat in the left side panel, then choose To delete. To clear everything, then click on your account photo (top right). Institutions, GeneralAnd Delete everything.
There’s also ChatGPT’s memory, which is managed separately from your conversation history: whether you keep or delete your chats, the bot can remember details about you, like your profession or where you’re from, so the answers are more personalized. For example, if you ask for movie recommendations, the AI will remember what you have already seen and liked.
To manage this on the web, then click on your account photo (top right). Institutions And Personalization. You can enable or disable the memory function with the toggle switch and click To manage to see individual reminders that ChatGPT has saved and delete them individually if necessary. To delete everything ChatGPT has ever remembered about you, click Clear ChatGPT’s memory of the Personalization screen.
If you want to keep your chats so you can search them, but don’t want OpenAI to use the conversations to further refine the AI models, this is another separate setting: click your profile photo (top right) and Institutionsand then select Data controls and switch off Improve the model for everyone toggle switch.