OpenAI has unveiled a powerful upgrade to ChatGPT that transforms how users interact with the AI.
Instead of sticking to one linear chat, people can create multiple conversation threads branching from a single starting point.
This new feature enables exploring varied ideas or strategies simultaneously without losing the original context. Imagine juggling different plans or tones in parallel, a capability long-awaited by the ChatGPT community.
Branching opens new doors for multi-path chats
Previously, ChatGPT conversations were like a straight road; once you turned a corner, you couldn’t easily go back without losing your previous path.
Now, the branching feature allows you to “fork” new threads from any message in your chat history. This means users can experiment with different styles, rewrite parts of conversations or test alternatives, all while preserving the original thread intact.
It mirrors how programmers use branching in code to try ideas safely before merging, but applied to AI conversations.
How to start a branch conversation
Using the branching tool is intuitive and straightforward. While in ChatGPT’s web app, hover your mouse over any message in your chat. A menu will appear with an option to “Branch in new chat.” Selecting it creates a fresh conversation that keeps everything from the original discussion up to that point.
Users can freely explore new directions from there without worrying about overwriting or losing past ideas. This feature is available to all logged-in users on the web version of ChatGPT.
Why branching matters to users
Many users sought this flexibility to avoid the hassle of starting from scratch or mixing multiple lines of thought together. Now marketing teams can test ad copy variations side by side. Researchers can pursue different hypotheses concurrently, while creators can experiment boldly without breaking the first draft.
This reflects real-world workflows where parallel thinking and iteration are vital, provided by the AI’s newfound capacity to handle multitasking conversations reliably.
Quietly rolled out in early September 2025, this branching function marks a key step in evolving ChatGPT from a single-threaded chat companion into a versatile assistant capable of effortlessly managing complex, layered interactions.