# How to reference another chat in ChatGPT > Bring an old chat into a new ChatGPT message with Kortex. Type ;ref, pick a chat from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity, and it goes in with a link back. https://www.kortex-notebooklm.com/tutorials/how-to-reference-old-chats-in-chatgpt 1. [Tutorials](/tutorials) 2. How to reference another chat in ChatGPT # How to reference another chat in ChatGPT 1 minute 6 steps Updated November 10, 2026 ## Quick answer Install Kortex and let it save your chats. In ChatGPT's chat box, write your draft and type ;ref. A menu lists past chats from any AI, the closest first. Move to one and press Enter. Kortex adds the passage that matters to your message, with a link back to that chat. ## Watch it first How to move context between ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini with ;ref, ;pack and ;me (Kortex) Read the transcript Kortex, for Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, keeps your AI chats on your computer. Here's how to carry what they know into any other AI. In any AI's chat box, type a semicolon. A menu opens with your saved prompts and Kortex's commands. Semicolon ref lists your past chats from any AI, the closest to your draft first. Pick one, and the part that matters goes in, with a link back. Semicolon pack turns a folder into a project brief: what its chats decided, plus your pins and notes. Semicolon me adds an about-me pack from your Memory. You read and edit every pack before it goes in. To move a whole chat, open its menu and choose Continue in another AI. Pick the AI, check the pack, and Kortex opens a new chat there with it. Memory holds facts about you that you approve. Select a sentence in an answer and click Remember. If it's close to a fact you have, choose Update it or Keep both. When a fact stops being true, open its menu and choose No longer true. Kortex keeps it with an end date, and stops using it. Start every new chat with what you already worked out. ## What you need - The [Kortex extension](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/kortex/hdapplggdhndkblofffknpmnnnnbncbn) in Chrome, Edge or Brave, and signed in - Saving turned on: you clicked Keep my chats in my Library when Kortex asked - A few saved chats to reference, from ChatGPT or any other AI ## On this page 1. [Make sure Kortex has saved your chats](#step-1) 2. [Write your draft, then type ;ref](#step-2) 3. [Let the closest chats come first, or search](#step-3) 4. [Press Enter on the chat you want](#step-4) 5. [Add your question and send](#step-5) 6. [Use the same command in any AI](#step-6) 7. [If it doesn’t work](#trouble) 8. [Questions](#faq) 1. ## Make sure Kortex has saved your chats The ;ref menu reads your Library, so the old chat must be saved there first. Chats from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok save in the background every few minutes. Perplexity chats save while a Perplexity tab is open. 2. ## Write your draft, then type ;ref Open a ChatGPT chat box and start your message. Then type **;ref**. A menu opens above the chat box listing past chats from any AI, with the AI's name, the chat's title, its date and its first line. [![A ChatGPT chat box holding a draft about a grant narrative that ends in ;ref, with a menu above it listing past chats from Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.](/images/library/ref.webp)](/images/library/ref.webp) The closest past chats, from any AI, appear as you type. 3. ## Let the closest chats come first, or search With nothing after ;ref, the chats closest in meaning to your draft come first, and the best matches carry a **Related** label. To look for something else, type words after ;ref to search your chats. 4. ## Press Enter on the chat you want Move to a chat in the menu and press **Enter**. Kortex puts the passage that matters into your message, with a link back to the chat. **Esc** closes the menu without adding anything. 5. ## Add your question and send Read what Kortex added and edit it if you like. Then write your question under it and send. ChatGPT now has the background from your earlier chat, even if it came from Claude or Gemini. 6. ## Use the same command in any AI The ; menu works in the chat box of every AI site Kortex supports. It also lists your saved prompts, and the commands **;ask**, **;me** and **;pack**. [![A Claude chat box with a semicolon typed and a menu above it listing saved prompts, then the commands ;ref, ;ask, ;me and ;pack at the bottom.](/media/features/prompt-shortcut-menu.webp)](/media/features/prompt-shortcut-menu.webp) Type ; in a chat box for your saved prompts and commands. ## If it doesn’t work The ;ref menu shows no chats Nothing is saved yet, or saving is off. Open the side panel's Chats tab, click the gear to open Saving your chats, and check that saving is on. Then give Kortex a few minutes to save your chats. The wrong chats are at the top Type words after ;ref to search, for example ;ref grant budget. The menu then lists chats that match those words. I need the whole chat, not one passage Use Continue in another AI from the chat's ⋯ menu to carry the chat's decisions, pins and note into a new chat. Or choose Copy chat in the Library and paste it. ## Questions people ask Something we missed? [Ask us](#contact). ### What does ;ref do? It brings part of an earlier chat into your new message. You pick the chat from a list, and Kortex adds the passage that matters, with a link back to the chat. ### Can I reference a Claude or Gemini chat from ChatGPT? Yes. The menu lists past chats from every AI Kortex saved: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok. Each row names the AI the chat was on. ### Does ;ref send my chats anywhere? Your Library stays on your computer. The passage goes only into the chat box of the AI you are typing in, and it is yours to read and edit before you send. ### Will Kortex tell me when I already asked something before? Yes. While you type the first question of a new ChatGPT or Claude chat, Kortex looks for a past chat on the same thing, from any AI, and shows it above the chat box. You can turn this off in Saving your chats. ## Keep going [Chat Library Keep your AI chats on your computer and search them, next to your YouTube videos and notebooks.](/features#organize) [Kortex docs The full reference for this feature, with every option.](/docs/chat-library) ### More tutorials - [How to switch from ChatGPT to Claude: what to bring over](/tutorials/how-to-switch-from-chatgpt-to-claude) - [How to transfer ChatGPT memory to Claude (with Kortex)](/tutorials/how-to-transfer-chatgpt-memory-to-claude) - [How to move a ChatGPT conversation to Claude](/tutorials/how-to-move-chatgpt-conversations-to-claude) - [How to add notes to ChatGPT conversations](/tutorials/how-to-add-notes-to-chatgpt-conversations) [All tutorials](/tutorials) ## Do it on your own notebooks. Install the Kortex extension and follow these steps on a notebook you already have. 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