Bug in ChatGPT Web: Interaction Issues with Citation Source Boxes

There are two issues with the citation source interaction on the ChatGPT web version: (Since links are not allowed, if you need an example, please tell me how I can send the link to you.)

  1. Citation Tooltip Disappears Before User Can Interact
    The citation source is displayed in a gray rounded rectangle, and when hovering the mouse over it, a tooltip appears showing the source’s webpage title and a brief summary. However, once the mouse cursor is moved away from the citation source, the tooltip disappears, making it impossible for the user to click the link within the tooltip or select the text summary. This behavior prevents users from interacting with the tooltip’s content properly.
  2. Inconsistent Citation Link Availability
    In the example linked, some citation sources have an associated URL that can be clicked, allowing users to visit the source directly. However, there are other citation sources where the rounded rectangle appears, but no URL is attached. Clicking on these sources does not take the user anywhere, meaning the source cannot be accessed, leading to inconsistent behavior in the interface.

These two issues degrade the user experience and prevent users from effectively accessing and interacting with citation sources.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open the ChatGPT web page at the provided link.
  2. Hover over a citation source (the gray rounded rectangle).
  3. Notice that the tooltip appears, but moving the cursor away causes it to disappear.
  4. Observe that some citation sources allow access to the URL, while others do not, despite having a similar rounded rectangle appearance.

Expected Behavior:

  • The tooltip should remain visible for as long as the user hovers over or interacts with the citation source, allowing them to click on the URL or select the text.
  • All citation sources should be consistently linked to a valid URL that allows users to visit the source directly.
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