- OpenAI has added a new conversational branching feature to ChatGPT
- The branching lets you go off on a tangent during a talk without overwriting an earlier point
- The update makes it easier to test multiple directions while preserving the original thread
OpenAI has given ChatGPT users a new feature: the ability to branch their conversations with the AI chatbot. The apparently much-requested feature enables users to explore more than one conversational path without rewriting or restarting their chats.
It’s the equivalent of saying “let’s put a pin in that and come back to it” when talking to a friend. You can complete whatever you were discussing and then bring up the previously mentioned idea and talk about it, too.
Except in this case, you go to the message from ChatGPT you want to go on a tangent from, and click “Branch in a new chat” from the list of “more options.” A parallel thread will appear with your entire conversation to that point, ready for you to take in a new direction.
By popular request: you can now branch conversations in ChatGPT, letting you more easily explore different directions without losing your original thread.Available now to logged-in users on web. https://t.co/l6RflhOGuK pic.twitter.com/CpVehkULOBSeptember 4, 2025
It’s a relatively small addition that could have a big effect, like tracking changes when you’re editing text. The original version is still there, but you can see what the edited version would look like, too. Branching actually goes beyond that because you can have multiple layers of different changes all available at once.
Branching might be particularly helpful when you don’t know precisely what you want and you’re brainstorming or feeling indecisive. You can try it out yourself even without a subscription to ChatGPT. When you select the branching option, you’ll get a new conversation window, though it’s only available on the web version of ChatGPT for now.
Branching AI
Branching is a nice way for ChatGPT to allow you to change your mind in the moment. People don’t always think in straight lines, and branching lets you try out a few options.
For instance, it might be useful for teachers preparing multiple versions of a worksheet or a company founder trying to make different versions of a pitch speech.
Or imagine you have a new recipe you want to try, but you feel like it could be made spicier. You can ask for a spicier version of the recipe, but then decide maybe it would work better with some sweetness. Simply branch off from that earlier recipe response, and you’ll be able to discuss it without having to go back to your original recipe and delete the spicy option.
Branching isn’t quite the power move of recent advances by ChatGPT in memory, or the new task-enabled Agent system, but not every improvement to AI chatbots has to be complex. That’s probably why it was so widely requested and why OpenAI isn’t putting it behind a paywall.
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