If you’ve spent time chatting with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, you’ve probably noticed that the conversation flows linearly. You ask a question, the model answers. You follow up, it continues. This might work for quick questions, but the thing is, thought and research processes don’t work like that.
We need the ability to branch off. Ask a question to a specific part of the answer of the LLM, and get the answer without being automatically scrolled down to the very bottom of the conversation which means you need to scroll back up to were you were.
Conversations with AI shouldn’t be a single thread, but a branching tree. I should be able to select a part of the answer that I don’t understand, pose a question, and get an answer in a split screen next to the main, linear thread.
I currently branch off by having multiple ChatGPT tabs open at the same time, but that’s not how it should be.
Extending the idea
And then, what if I have a question about a part of the already branched off response? You could extend the idea, and make the case for having the ability to have as many sub-conversations as you want, something like a Reddit interface but with all answers being to the right of the main statement, connected through arrows.
Humans think in branches, not lines. Conversations with real people don’t mean every person get’s to talk 10 minutes and then it’s the others turn. People interrupt each other, they talk to each other.
Looking at you, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and whoever’s out there.