Google Gemini Tests Chat Import Tool to Break AI Assistant Lock-In

Google is quietly developing a feature that could fundamentally change how people switch between AI assistants. The company is testing an "Import AI chats" tool in Gemini that would allow users to bring over their entire conversation histories from rival platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot.

Breaking Down the Barriers

The feature addresses what has become known as ecosystem lock-in in the AI chatbot market. When users spend months building up context, preferences, and workflows with a particular AI assistant, that accumulated history makes switching platforms feel prohibitively tedious. It's the same psychological barrier that keeps people on social media platforms or messaging apps even when alternatives emerge.

Discovered in early testing builds by TestingCatalog, the import option appears in Gemini's attachment menu. Users would first download their chat history from another AI service, then upload the file directly to Gemini through a simple interface.

How It Works and Privacy Considerations

The tool currently appears to support only conversation threads, not saved memories or preferences. Google hasn't clarified which file formats will be accepted, and attempts to replicate the feature across multiple Gemini accounts have failed, suggesting it remains hidden from most users.

One significant consideration: a notice during import warns that all uploaded data will be recorded in users' Gemini Activity and may be used to improve Google's services, including training generative AI models. Users importing years of conversations containing sensitive information should weigh this carefully.

Additional Features in Development

Alongside chat imports, Google is upgrading Gemini's image generation capabilities with new two-thousand and four-thousand resolution output options, with the higher setting optimised for print. A third feature called "Likeness" has also surfaced, potentially helping users identify AI-generated content using their face or voice without consent.

What This Means for Competition

If Google executes well on data portability, Gemini could gain a significant advantage in attracting users who have resisted switching despite improvements to the platform. ChatGPT's rapid climb to over one hundred million monthly users demonstrated how quickly habits form in conversational AI and how sticky those platforms become.

No timeline has been announced for a public rollout, but the feature's appearance with a beta label suggests an official launch may not be far off. The move comes as ChatGPT's market share has dropped from eighty-seven percent to sixty-eight percent, while Gemini has surged from five percent to eighteen percent, showing that the AI assistant market remains highly competitive and fluid.