Using the web version on Firefox, I am unable to click the buttons under my messages in chat (copy, edit), because they are there only when I hover the message - the moment my cursor leaves the field, to go click on the button, the buttons disappear.
What I also found is that this particular one is a rather long chat, made as a branch from another chat, and the buttons actually all seem to work, until the first message after the branching - so, the first message under the “as a branch fom conversation” still has the buttons working, then there’s chatgpt reply, and all my messages (not the chatgpt replies, those are ok) after have the issue of the buttons hiding. Edit: I tried a few other chats and they also have the disappearing buttons under the branch notice, but sometimes even the first message under the branch notice is affected, and the last one not, the pattern isn’t clear to me.
I can get to the button via keyboard and it does work when I press Enter.
However, if I highlight the edit button by selecting it on keyboard (pressing Tab), it is still not clickable (nor is the “copy” one next to it).
Hi @consider.ez, the disappearing copy/edit buttons when your cursor leaves the message area is actually expected behavior in the current UI. The odd part here is really the click interaction feeling unreliable in those branched chats.
I wasn’t able to reproduce the “unclickable after Tab focus” part on my side though. In testing, keyboard navigation still let me activate the buttons normally once focused.
Since this seems inconsistent across chats, it’s worth checking whether Firefox itself is contributing here. A few things to try:
- Test the same chat in another browser
- Try Firefox private/incognito mode
- Disable extensions temporarily
- Clear cache/cookies for ChatGPT
Feel free to respond here if the issue persists.
-Mark G.
Hello, I cannot imagine, why would the copy/edit button disappearing be intended, when I leave the area of the message - by which I mean the associated chat bubble. Because to actually click on that button means I do have to leave the chat bubble, as the buttons are located below it. So as I move my cursor towards the button, it’s gone. I go back into the message, it pops back. I try to click it again, it disappears before I get there. Incredibly frustrating 
Since I do not expect this to be a feature, I was trying to look through my other chats and found out the buttons mostly do work and do not hide - it only seems to happen in those branched chats after branching, but then again, my sample size is very small.
I thought this does not happen in Chrome - the buttons do not hide. But actually, they do hide, but the area where the cursor is allowed is larger, so I can click them. Same in Firefox, they do hide, but the area is large enough I can put my cursor next to them and onto them, without them disappearing. But with some chat bubbles, the buttons disappear as soon as I leave them, before I travel those few pixels to the buttons.
Tested same chat in private mode with no extensions - same behaviour.
Tested it on Chrome in private mode…actually, the same chat had same behaviour, also disappearing. Including selecting the button by Tab, still unclickable (though Enter works).
I would suppose the cache/cookiesare also moot in a private window, as it starts fresh.
TL;DR: I mean cursor leaving the chat bubble to click on the button under it, and it happens on other browsers too.
It’s happening on Chrome as well. And it’s a thread that was branched from rather than a branch itself.
Hey folks, totally get why that’s frustrating. The button showing up, then disappearing before you can reach it, makes the UI feel broken.
Here’s what we know so far: this copy/edit hover behavior is part of a feature that isn’t officially released yet, so there isn’t a solid workaround available right now. It still looks like it’s in testing, and branched chats may be exposing an edge case.
Since you can reproduce it across browsers and private mode, the most useful next step would be opening a support ticket via email to support@openai.com with a HAR file and a short screen recording showing the issue happening. That gives the team something concrete to trace instead of guessing from the UI behavior alone.
Appreciate the detailed repro notes too, they’re genuinely helpful here.
-Mark G.