OpenAI turned on a new search feature across ChatGPT on July 14, 2026, and it solves a problem almost everyone using the app has run into: scrolling forever to find a conversation from weeks ago. It rolled out at the same time on the ChatGPT website, the iPhone app, and the Android app, and it works on every plan, including Free — no upgrade needed.
How to use it. Look for a magnifying glass icon near the top of the sidebar, or press Ctrl+K on Windows or Cmd+K on a Mac, and start typing. The search looks through everything at once — your past chats, any Projects you've set up, and images or documents you've uploaded — and lets you narrow the results down by type instead of scrolling through one long mixed list.
It even finds archived chats. If you've ever archived a conversation to tidy up your sidebar, it normally disappears from view entirely. The new search still finds it — archiving hides a chat from the list, it doesn't remove it from search.
Worth a moment's thought. Having your entire chat history one search away is convenient, but it's also a good nudge to think about what's actually sitting in there. If you've ever typed something sensitive into ChatGPT — a health question, a financial detail — it's worth a quick look at what ChatGPT saves and how to change it in our guide to ChatGPT's privacy settings.