OpenAI has rolled out a new capability that allows ChatGPT to pull information directly from your previous chats. If you are a Plus or Pro subscriber, the assistant can now reference conversations dating all the way back to when your account was created, making it easier to ask follow-up questions tied to things you discussed months or even years ago.
ChatGPT has always stored chat history, but finding the right conversation has not been smooth. Manual searches often surface the wrong thread, especially when topics overlap or repeat. The new system aims to fix that by giving the model a more reliable way to understand personal context across time.
According to details shared by OpenAI researchers and spotted by independent analyst Tibor Blaho, the update introduces an internal system called PersonalContextAgentTool. This tool activates when a question depends on past interactions, allowing ChatGPT to scan earlier conversations and reference them directly. When it does, the assistant shows the relevant chat as a clickable source so users can review exactly where the information came from.
OpenAI confirmed that ChatGPT Plus and Pro users worldwide now have access to this feature. It works quietly in the background, activating only when your question clearly depends on something discussed before. The experience feels less like searching a log and more like continuing a conversation that never fully ended.
The company explains the feature using everyday examples. If you asked for a recipe weeks ago or outlined a workout routine months back, ChatGPT can now recall those details without you needing to find and reopen the original chat. The referenced conversation appears alongside the response, giving users visibility and control over the context being used.
More details about the rollout appear in the official OpenAI release notes, which outline how personal context is handled and when the system is triggered. The approach mirrors how citation-style references work in other AI tools, providing transparency instead of pulling information silently.
This update also highlights how closely the AI race is being watched. Google Gemini introduced its own memory-based chat referencing feature in early 2025, allowing users to maintain longer, more continuous conversations. That move set expectations for context awareness, and ChatGPT’s new history search brings it closer to parity.
While the feature arrives later than some competitors, it lands alongside broader upgrades to the platform. OpenAI has been steadily refining ChatGPT through major model releases, including the launch of GPT-5 and the more recent ChatGPT 5.1 update, which focused on faster responses and expanded personality options.
For subscribers, the biggest change is how personal the experience now feels. Instead of treating each chat as a fresh start, ChatGPT can stitch together related conversations, remembering preferences, plans, and prior discussions in a way that feels more natural. The assistant behaves less like a tool you reset every session and more like a system that actually remembers what you told it.
As OpenAI continues to expand ChatGPT’s capabilities, features like full chat history search point toward a future where AI assistants act as long-term collaborators rather than short-term helpers. With context preserved across time, everyday tasks like planning, learning, and problem-solving become easier to pick up right where you left off.
