Gemini is all set to branch out with a new ChatGPT-style feature
Source: Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is testing a feature that lets you branch Gemini conversations into new chats.
- It makes it easier to explore different responses without losing your original thread.
- ChatGPT already has this feature.
What is branching, and why is it useful?
Branching a conversation is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of continuing a single long chat, you can create a copy of it at any point and explore a different direction without affecting the original thread.
This mirrors how human conversations work: you can talk around a topic without losing track of the original point. In Gemini, the feature will allow you to experiment with prompts or compare answers without starting from scratch.
If the feature sounds familiar, it’s because ChatGPT has offered a similar “Branch in new chat” option for some time now. Google has also experimented with this idea before in AI Studio, but this would be the first time it appears in the Gemini app for regular users.
How to use branching
- Tap the three‑dot menu on a Gemini response.
- Select “Branch in new chat.”
- Gemini instantly opens a new conversation with that point as the starting context, labeling it with a “Branch:” tag so you can tell it apart from your main thread.
A small but important detail: if you’re deep into a conversation and choose to branch from an earlier reply, the new chat only carries forward everything up to that point. Anything that came after is left behind.
Potential impact
Branching could make Gemini much more useful for complex chats. Right now, trying different ideas in the same thread can quickly get messy. Branching keeps things cleaner and gives you more control over how you explore responses.
There’s no official word on when or if this will roll out. However, since Google has already built the feature for AI Studio, there’s a good chance it’ll be released to regular Gemini users soon.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work‑in‑progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.