Conversations and History
Each conversation is a separate chat with its own history, model and workspace.
What it is
A chat is where you give the AI work and see every step it takes. Cowork starts with an empty New chat every time it opens; your earlier chats stay in Sessions. Each chat keeps its own model and workspace, so two chats can work on different projects at the same time.
When to use it
| Start a new chat when | Stay in the same chat when |
|---|---|
| The topic or project changes | You are refining the same result |
| A long chat has drifted and you want a clean start | The AI needs what was said earlier |
| You want a different model or workspace for this job | You are answering the AI's questions |
How to use it
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Start a new chat | Click New chat at the top of the chat, or press ⌘N (Windows: Ctrl+N) |
| See your chats | Click Sessions (⌘L / Ctrl+L). A dot shows Running, Unread reply or Waiting for your confirmation |
| Find a chat | In the list, click the search icon or press ⌘F / Ctrl+F, then type part of the title |
| Rename a chat | Double-click its title at the top of the chat |
| Archive a chat | Click the archive icon on its row, or More › Archive. A running chat shows Stop and archive |
| Undo the last archive or rename | Press ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z outside the input box |
| Bring back an archived chat | More › Archived Chat, select it, click Restore |
| Delete a chat for good | Right-click its row › Delete forever…, or Delete in Archived Chat |
Example
You finish a supplier report in one chat and want to start on next week's schedule. Click New chat, choose the schedule's folder as the workspace, and ask. The report chat stays in Sessions with its history; open it again later to make changes.
Limits and permissions
- A new chat is saved only after you send its first message.
- Archiving keeps all messages; it only takes the chat off the list.
- Delete forever… cannot be undone.
- Chats from scheduled tasks are not in Sessions; they are under the clock on the rail. See Scheduled Tasks.
If something goes wrong
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A chat says it can no longer restore its context | Start a new chat. The old messages stay readable |
| The AI seems to have forgotten something from much earlier | Long chats are compacted. Repeat the detail, or start a new chat. See Long Chats and Automatic Compaction |
| An archived or renamed chat is not where you expected | Press ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z outside the input box to undo the last change |
Related
- Steering, Stopping and Taking Back Change direction while the AI works
- Choose a Workspace Give a chat its folder
- Models and Reasoning Effort Pick the model for a chat