Overview
Use sidebar search to find content in your ChatGPT account or current workspace, including chats, projects, images, and files. When available, results can also include folders and files from a connected Google Drive account.
Sidebar search finds your existing content. It does not search the web. For current information and online sources, see: Searching the web with ChatGPT.
Availability
Sidebar search is available to signed-in users on all ChatGPT plans on web, iOS, and Android. Available result types, connected sources, and filters may vary by account, workspace, and device.
Search your chats, projects, and files
Open Search from the ChatGPT sidebar.
Enter words or phrases related to the item you want to find.
Select a content filter, if available.
Select a result to open the chat, project, image, document, or folder.
On the web, you can also press Ctrl+K on Windows or Cmd+K on macOS to open Search.
Filter search results
Available filters can include:
All shows results across available content types.
Chats shows matching conversations.
Images shows matching image files.
Documents shows matching document files.
Projects shows matching projects.
If you cannot find an item, select All to search across available content types.
Find chats and archived conversations
Search can match words in a chat’s title or messages. Regular and archived chats can appear in search results, but deleted chats do not.
An older chat that is no longer visible in the sidebar has not necessarily been deleted. Search for a word or phrase from the conversation to find and reopen it.
Archived chats remain searchable even though they do not appear in your regular chat history. You can also find them in Settings under Data controls.
Find projects, files, and folders
Search results can include projects, images, documents, and other eligible files from Library. If an eligible Google Drive account is connected, files and folders you can access may also appear.
The content available in search depends on your account, workspace, connected sources, and permissions.
Sidebar search helps you find files, but you manage, reuse, download, and delete them from Library. For more information, see: Using Library to manage files in ChatGPT.
Understand deleted chats in search
Deleting a chat removes it from your account view and sidebar search. If an outdated search result remains briefly, opening it does not restore the deleted chat.
Deleted chats cannot be recovered through search.
Troubleshoot missing search results
If an expected result does not appear:
Confirm that you are signed in to the correct account and workspace.
Try different words from the chat, project name, or filename.
Select All or change your search filter.
Check Archived chats if you are looking for a conversation.
If you are looking for a file, check Library and confirm that any connected source is still available.
Allow time for recently created or deleted items to update in search.
Check OpenAI Status for an active incident.