From conversations to command center
Improving Chat Management on ChatGPT through Workspace-Style Layout and Smart Navigation
Methods
Desk Research
User Interviews
Contextual Inquiry
User Persona
Competitor Analysis
Impact–Effort Matrix
5 Second Test
Role
User researcher, Visual designer
Duration
May 2025-July 2025
Our Team
2 Product Designers
Mentor
Introduction
We’ve all been there. You remember a brilliant answer from GPT… But now you’re endlessly scrolling, trying to find it.That’s exactly why we set out to fix it.
We were frustrated too!
finding old chats felt harder than it should. That’s exactly why we decided to tackle this problem.
What are we trying to understand?
The Smartest Assistant Still Needs Smarter Organization !
We conducted field research across platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube comments to uncover users’ biggest frustrations with chat management in ChatGPT.
Key Repeating Patterns
What patterns keep showing up across user feedback?
Even with the launch of Projects, users still face challenges. Whether on Reddit or Twitter, people consistently highlight gaps in how ChatGPT supports continuity, organization, and memory.
Watching Real People Work
Validating Patterns Through Real Conversations
We ran interviews and contextual inquiries to see if the issues we found in online comments showed up in real use. Watching how people use ChatGPT in their daily flow helped us spot what truly gets in their way.
Assumptions Meet Reality
What We Got Right And What We Didn’t
Our interviews and contextual observations helped us separate facts from guesses. What do users actually need, and what did we just assume.
Who Are We Designing For?
From Casual Prompts to Project Workflows: GPT Usage Patterns
We identified two key user types, casual and professional. Each with distinct needs and friction points. By mapping their usage habits and frustrations, we uncovered patterns that shaped our design direction.
Competitive Analysis
What Others Do Well And Where AI Chats Still Fall Short
We compared ChatGPT with other AI Chatbots and productivity tools to see what features they’ve nailed and where they still struggle. This helped us identify inspiration points as well as clear opportunity gaps.
Design Decision
Turning Frustrations into Design Opportunities
We compared ChatGPT with other AI and productivity tools to see what features they’ve nailed and where they still struggle. This helped us identify inspiration points as well as clear opportunity gaps.
Prioritizations Matrix
Which solutions matter most to each user?
Although John and Sara face many of the same struggles, they use ChatGPT in different ways. We prioritized ideas based on their unique workflows, so each one gets the most out of their experience.
Turning Ideas into UI
Designed for How People Actually Work
We wanted to fix the little things that were quietly frustrating people every day, like lost files, forgotten chats, and not knowing where to click next. Every small change we made was based on real problems users were facing.
✨ A Homepage That Works Like a Workspace
✨ From static folders to dynamic project tracking
✨ Search smarter, navigate faster
✨ Highlight what matters, save it where it belongs.
Validating with users
Where We Nailed It & Where We Missed
We showed our design to 5 previous interview participants for 5 seconds and asked quick, targeted questions to understand if core features and purposes are immediately clear. Their reactions helped us spot what felt intuitive and where more clarity or refinement was still needed.
Validating with users
Where We Nailed It & Where We Missed
We showed our design to 5 previous interview participants for 5 seconds and asked quick, targeted questions to understand if core features and purposes are immediately clear. Their reactions helped us spot what felt intuitive and where more clarity or refinement was still needed.
As we conclude...
