Feature Request: Sub-chats / Anchored Follow-up Questions
I’d like to suggest a small ChatGPT feature that I think could make conversations much easier to follow, especially when learning.
The idea
When ChatGPT gives a response, allow users to start a small sub-chat attached to a specific part of that response.
For example, imagine ChatGPT gives me a 10-line explanation.
I understand everything except something mentioned in line 3.
Currently, I can select the text and use “Ask ChatGPT”, but the question becomes part of the main conversation. I then have to go down to the bottom of the chat, ask my question, read the answer, and then go back to the original response.
Instead, I’d like to be able to ask the question right there, attached to line 3.
For example:
3. A protocol is a set of rules that devices follow to communicate.
Sub-chat
Me: What exactly is a protocol?
ChatGPT: Think of it like a common language and set of rules that computers agree to follow when communicating.
Then I could collapse that sub-chat and continue reading the original response.
Why I think this would be useful
The important part is that these would not become normal messages in the main conversation.
If I have three small doubts about three different parts of one answer, I could have:
Main response
-
Line 3 → Sub-chat
-
Line 6 → Sub-chat
-
Line 9 → Sub-chat
The original conversation stays clean, while every follow-up remains connected to exactly what I was asking about.
This would be particularly useful for:
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Learning technical subjects
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Understanding unfamiliar words
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Reading long explanations
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Asking questions about code
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Studying from ChatGPT
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Understanding individual steps in a process
UI idea
It doesn’t have to make the interface complicated.
A selected piece of text could have an option such as:
Ask about this → Start sub-chat
Once created, the sub-chat could appear as a small expandable section or icon attached to that piece of text.
It could also be collapsed so the original response remains completely clean.
The main idea
I’m not asking for a completely separate chat system.
I’m imagining something closer to:
Main Chat → ChatGPT Response → Specific part of response → Small anchored conversation
The key is that the follow-up stays where the question originated, instead of moving the discussion to the bottom of the main chat.
I think this could be a relatively small UI feature that would make ChatGPT much more natural to use for learning and exploring complex answers.
TL;DR: Let users start a small, collapsible conversation directly from a specific sentence, paragraph, code block, or part of a ChatGPT response. The follow-up stays anchored to that content instead of becoming a new message in the main chat.