You Can Now Search ChatGPT Conversation History
OpenAI is constantly introducing new features for ChatGPT, and one of the latest updates is small but useful: the ability to search conversations you’ve had with the AI chatbot.
Whether you want to get back to debating party ideas for kids, or you want to continue debating the ethics of AI, or you want to keep using ChatGPT to spice up your emails to your boss – whatever you need to get back to, it’s now easier to do with search tool.
The feature is available now on web and mobile for ChatGPT Plus users paying $20 per month. OpenAI says the rollout to free users will take a few weeks, so unless you’re a paid subscriber, you may not see it yet.
How to Search Your ChatGPT Conversations
Once the search feature is live in your ChatGPT account, you’ll be able to access it either on the web or in the Android and iOS mobile apps, although it’s not particularly advanced in its capabilities at this stage. All your conversations with the bot are synced between the web and your mobile device as long as you are logged in with the same account.
On the web, click the magnifying glass icon at the top left (if you don’t see it, click the icon that is two connected rectangles to show the sidebar). A new dialog box will appear and you can enter the words you’re looking for: as you type, matches will begin to appear for both the chat titles and the text within them.
You’ll see dates next to chats in the results, and to visit a previous chat you can simply tap on it. You can also create a new chat from the search dialog if the search box is empty. There are currently no advanced options – for example, to combine search terms or search for one word to the exclusion of another.
On the mobile app, the search box is in the top right corner of the interface, but you need to click the sidebar button (the two horizontal lines in the top left corner) to see it. The same search function applies here, and you’ll see matching results as you enter your search terms – you can also just click ChatGPT to start a new chat.
ChatGPT conversation history management
The ability to search your ChatGPT conversations may encourage you to save them for later use, but you can delete a chat anywhere online: Click the three dots next to a chat in the left sidebar, then select Delete . To erase everything, click your account picture (top right), then Settings , General, and Erase All .
There’s also ChatGPT memory, which is managed separately from your conversation history: whether you save or delete your chats, the bot can remember detailed information about you, such as your profession or your location, so its responses will be more personalized. For example, if you ask for a movie recommendation, the AI will remember what you’ve already seen and liked.
To manage this online, click on your account image (top right), then Settings and Personalization . You can turn the memory feature on or off using the toggle switch and tap Manage to view individual memories saved by ChatGPT and delete them individually if necessary. To clear everything ChatGPT ever remembered about you, click Clear ChatGPT Memory on the Personalization screen.
If you want your chats to be searchable, but not allow OpenAI to use the conversations to further improve its AI models, this is another separate setting: Click your profile picture (top right) and Settings , then select Data Management ” and turn off the “ Improve model for everyone” switch.