If you’ve ever spent some time brainstorming an idea with Google Gemini, you’ll know that slightly deviating from the core topic can add a lot of confusion to the conversation. The solution is typically to go back and start afresh, which also means you lose everything you’ve discussed until that point.
Rival AI chatbot ChatGPT addressed this concern in September last year with a feature called branched chats, enabling users to open a new chat off of a response. Android Authority has now uncovered evidence suggesting Google Gemini is gearing up to implement a similar feature for its app.
Looking into version 17.10.54.sa.arm64 (beta) of the Google app, the site uncovered and activated the “Branch in new chat” functionality. When available, this tool will be accessible via the three-dot button below each Gemini response, located next to the thumbs-up/down and share icons.
Each conversation will appear individually in the Chats section, along with the “Branch” prefix to help you determine between main and branched chats.
This has been a long-requested Gemini feature
The upcoming Branch in new chat option within the three-dot menu (image 1); Branched conversations in the Chats section
As you would expect, the branch will only factor in the information it has received up to that point. This means if you create a chat branch from an earlier Gemini response, the branch will not consider information discussed beyond that response.
There’s no word on when this feature will be available to Gemini users on Android. But since it appears to be functioning as intended already, albeit after manual intervention by Android Authority, we hope Google won’t take too long.
In addition to helping you explore a different topic away from the main chat, branched chats are also great for asking follow-up questions without impacting the conversation. The existing solution is to return to the main page and open a new Gemini chat, thereby keeping the main chat unaffected. But this new chat won’t have any of the context discussed in the main chat. Branched chats effectively solve that problem.
As Android Authority points out, Google offers a similar tool in AI Studio, enabling users to test different prompts and their results. However, this is the first indication of its arrival on the main Gemini app. It has also been a widely requested feature for several months now, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Gemini is finally working on it.
We presume the tool will appear first for desktop users of Gemini and later trickle down to the Android and iOS apps.
