Google no longer displays ChatGPT conversations in its search results. Learn how to delete your shared links here.
OpenAI Discontinues ChatGPT Conversations Indexing Feature
OpenAI, the company behind the popular chat model ChatGPT, has recently announced the discontinuation of a feature that allowed users' conversations to be indexed by search engines. The feature, which was a short-lived experiment, lasted for approximately three months or less, from some time between late April and July 2025, until early August 2025 when it was removed.
Initially, users could opt-in to make their shared ChatGPT conversations discoverable by search engines through a checkbox. Archived OpenAI help pages show that as of April 26, 2025, shared links were not designed to appear in searches. However, by April 28, 2025, the text was updated, indicating users could manually enable indexing, implying the feature possibly started after late April 2025.
Media coverage and indexing by Google of shareable ChatGPT conversations became widely reported around July 31, 2025. Approximately 4,500 ChatGPT conversations appeared in Google search results, including personal details such as discussions of mental health challenges, relationships, and other sensitive topics.
OpenAI's Chief Information Security Officer, Dane Stuckey, confirmed the removal of the feature on August 3, 2025, calling it a "short-lived experiment." He cited accidental exposure of private chats and privacy concerns as the reasons for its removal.
To address the privacy concerns, ChatGPT is now working to remove the indexed content from search engines. However, deleting shared links may not immediately remove conversations from Google or other search engines. To delete saved shared links in ChatGPT, users can navigate to the website, click the settings, data controls, and then the "Manage" button next to "Shared links."
The official website of ChatGPT stated on April 26, 2025, that shared links were not designed to show up in public search results on the internet. The prompt stated that enabling the option "Allows [chats] to be shown in web searches." The option to make chats discoverable appeared within the window that included the share link.
The feature was intended to help people discover useful conversations. However, its removal is a reminder for users to be mindful of the information they share and to read accompanying text carefully before checking boxes. It's also a testament to the importance of privacy in the digital age.
As OpenAI continues to update and improve ChatGPT, users can expect more features and improvements that aim to make the chat model even more useful and user-friendly.
- Despite the discontinuation of the feature that allowed conversations on ChatGPT to be indexed by search engines, users can still manage their shared links in the Settings, Data Controls, and "Manage" button next to "Shared links."
- The short-lived experiment, which lasted from late April to early August 2025, was a feature that enabled users to make their shared ChatGPT conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google.
- The removal of the ChatGPT conversation indexing feature was due to concerns about privacy, as personal details like discussions of mental health challenges, relationships, and other sensitive topics were accidentally exposed.
- As technology advances in the field of data-and-cloud-computing, general news includes updates about major software like Windows and new devices like the Xbox and Microsoft's Surface, alongside developments in AI and digital privacy matters, such as the discontinuation of the ChatGPT conversation indexing feature.
