Automatically generated chat titles often reflect the first topic rather than the overall purpose of a conversation. Please give users control through one or more of these options:
A persistent naming rule: Let users define how their chats should be named, e.g. “Name chats according to their overall work purpose, not according to the first specific topic, file type, or task discussed.”
Selectable naming preferences: Offer options such as purpose-based, first-topic-based, project-oriented titles.
Follow existing instructions: Use custom instructions and project instructions when generating the initial chat title.
I asked Support about this on August 17. My title rule was simple: English, “<Project / Product / Entity> - <Topic / Action>”. Auto titles still didn’t consistently follow it.
I’d like one global naming rule, with a Project override. Please keep manually chosen titles and apply rule changes to new chats unless I ask to rename the old ones.
Also, when I start a new chat, while it is working, I rename the automatically set name. Then after it finish its thinking, GPT renames the chat again.. so I need to update/rename it again or wait for thinking to be finished first which is really inconvenient!
I remember back in early August and prior, I was able to take my initial prompt and type something like this: Title: ‘She wasn’t invited’, and Chatgpt would almost always label the sidebar title that, too. Suddenly it changed and now the chat titles become the stated purpose of my initial prompt, if that makes sense? I want the old behavior back.
I agree with this request. Giving users control over chat-title conventions would make conversation organization much more consistent, especially for users who manage many chats or use Projects extensively.
I would extend the proposal beyond the initial automatically generated title.
Custom Instructions, Project Instructions, and persistent naming rules should also be usable when an existing conversation is renamed later.
For example, a user could define a rule such as:
Use [Product] - [Topic] for technical conversations.
or:
Keep titles concise and update the title if the main subject of the conversation materially changes.
ChatGPT should then be able to apply the same rule consistently throughout the lifetime of the conversation, not only when the initial title is generated.
There should also be a clear precedence model:
A manually locked/user-selected title should take priority.
An explicit user request to rename should take priority over automatic naming.
Custom Instructions or Project Instructions should define the naming convention when applicable.
Automatic title generation should remain the fallback.
It would also be useful to offer separate controls such as:
apply naming rules only to new chats
allow ChatGPT to rename existing chats when explicitly requested
suggest a new title before applying it
automatically update titles according to naming rules
never change a manually locked title
This would turn naming preferences into a consistent conversation-management feature rather than only an initial-title generator.