ChatGPT can present an answer with graphics and controls inside the conversation, or answer in text alone. OpenAI calls this Intelligent UI. Its Help Center page, checked October 8, 2026, describes the supported plans, the web setting for a simpler layout and the limits on saving progress. This guide follows that documentation; BIG CHANGE has not tested the feature in ChatGPT.

The big change

  • What changed: A ChatGPT answer can now include an interface you use within the conversation, such as buttons, a form or a chart. OpenAI says the question determines the format, so an ordinary text answer remains possible.
  • Why it matters: A reader can interact with parts of an answer without leaving the chat. The available layout still depends on the model and mode, and choosing Simple reduces visual elements without removing every one.
  • What to watch: OpenAI says some experiences can keep their state after a thread refresh, but that state does not carry to another thread. Anyone relying on an in-chat checklist or similar component should treat each conversation as its own workspace.

Check your plan and reasoning mode

OpenAI's Intelligent UI guide says ChatGPT uses GPT-6 Sol for Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, and GPT-6 Luna for Free and Go. Both support Intelligent UI. The Pro reasoning option uses GPT-6 Astra, which does not support it. OpenAI says Intelligent UI works across reasoning levels from Instant through Extra High where a supported model is in use.

These are ChatGPT product settings, not instructions to choose an API model. The Help Center page does not list a price for Intelligent UI. It also does not say that every eligible answer will use visual or interactive components.

What an answer may contain

Depending on the question, OpenAI says a response can combine text with graphics, tappable buttons, forms, charts or interactive experiences. A comparison might use a side-by-side layout; a straightforward request may get a text answer. The page describes possible response formats, not a menu that lets the user demand one exact layout.

You can put response preferences in Custom Instructions, such as asking for concise answers or tables for comparisons. You can also request a different style in an individual conversation. OpenAI says these preferences guide the response, while the exact layout can vary.

Choose Simple on the web

In ChatGPT on the web, open Settings → Personalization → Layout and Visuals → Simple. OpenAI says Simple reduces visual and interactive elements. Some can still appear, so it is a preference for a simpler response style rather than a complete off switch. The Help Center page documents this control on the web; it does not give a path for other platforms.

Know what progress stays in a chat

Saving depends on the experience. OpenAI gives checklists as an example of components that can retain their state when you refresh the same chat thread. It says state is not retained across chat threads. A new conversation therefore should not be treated as a continuation of an interactive component's progress.

Intelligent UI is available in Chat, according to OpenAI, but not in the Work tab or Voice. The Help Center page also says connected plugins continue to work in ChatGPT; it does not describe plugin support as a guarantee that a particular interactive layout will appear.

Sources & further reading

  • OpenAI Help Center, “Intelligent UI in ChatGPT,” checked October 8, 2026 — Primary documentation for plan and model access, reasoning settings, possible response elements, preferences, the web Simple control, state retention and Chat-only availability. At 07:42 UTC on October 8, the page displayed “Updated 14 hours ago” but gave no absolute update timestamp or document version. This article does not infer a release time from that relative label. The page describes OpenAI's product behavior; BIG CHANGE did not test it.
  • IT之家, October 7, 2026 — A dated secondary report used as discovery context. Its product claims and examples are not the basis for this guide's instructions.
  • GIGAZINE, October 8, 2026 — Secondary context on the model news. The current OpenAI Help Center page supplies the access and control details used here.