It’s one of those quiet additions from OpenAI that is already making a difference in how you deal with a hasty question as opposed to something you want to put some thought into. And for the web, if you have a long chat, you can now get around it without any trouble thanks to a new feature.
A smarter way to set ChatGPT’s effort
Don’t just hit send. On the mobile app, hold down on the arrow for a second. You’ll be given an option to tell the model how much time to put into its reasoning before it gets back to you.
You will find this comes in handy. If you need a no-fuss answer to a simple thing, you can have it. But for a thorny calculation or a complex brief? You can make ChatGPT put in the work first.
They are called Instant, Thinking, and Extended. What shows up for you is a matter of which OpenAI plan you’re on, so don’t be surprised if your view is a little different from someone else’s.
To give you an idea of when to use what:
– Instant: for the quick and easy stuff
– Thinking: a good middle ground for most of your day-to-day
– Extended: when you want the AI to really think through a prompt
Faster navigation for long chats on web
ChatGPT on the web will now put together a table of contents once a conversation has some length to it. Hit five or more responses and the system will start to sort things by topic for you.
You’ll spot a menu icon to the right on a protracted chat. Put your cursor there and you can open the table of contents and go where you like, no scrolling required. For now, that is a web-only perk.
What you might notice in responses
If the quality or speed of a reply seems a touch off, it could be the new default model in the app. We made the switch last month and it does change how some of your usual prompts are handled.
We’ve also put a spin on the GPT-5.5 Instant model. The goal is to make the output better and more readable. You should see less of a wall of text or too many bullet points; we want it to read like a conversation.
Why this update matters now
For the user who is in a hurry and has to move from a quick check to some hard thinking, this new gesture is a timesaver. No need to wade into the settings to put the AI in the right headspace; you can do it as you type.
Then there is the table of contents for when you have been at it for a while. A research thread or a round of meeting notes can get out of hand. This makes them into something you can actually navigate and pass along to others.
Availability and how to use it
The selector is meant to be unobtrusive. You have to press and hold to see it. It’s a way to set the tone of a message without getting in your way.
Your plan will determine if you have access to the Instant, Thinking, and Extended modes. The table of contents is for the web app only, and we can’t say yet if the gesture control is coming to the browser any time soon.
In the end, it is OpenAI’s way of keeping ChatGPT simple but giving you the reins. On your phone, you get to set your intent in a snap. On the web, you have a clearer view of a long exchange. Not a lot to look at, but it makes a difference in how you use it every day.
