Google Gemini Launches Import Tool for ChatGPT and Claude Chat History in AI Portability Race

Google launched two new Gemini features on March 26, 2026 — 'Import Memory' and 'Import Chat History' — that allow users to migrate their entire context from ChatGPT or Claude to Gemini. The Import Memory tool works by having users paste a pre-written prompt into their current AI assistant, which generates a summary of everything it knows about them; that summary is then pasted into Gemini to instantly transfer writing style, preferences, and project details. The Import Chat History feature accepts ZIP file exports from ChatGPT or Claude (up to 5 GB, five files per day), making full conversation archives available in Gemini's side panel.

The launch is a direct attack on the switching friction that keeps users locked to rival AI assistants. After weeks or months of use, AI tools accumulate personalized context — preferences, work style, recurring projects — that acts as a powerful retention mechanism. Google's timing is significant: Anthropic had deployed a comparable memory import feature for Claude approximately three weeks earlier, signaling an industry-wide data portability race. OpenAI's ChatGPT currently lacks comparable migration tools, giving both Google and Anthropic a competitive opening. The import tools are available to all consumer Gemini accounts globally, except in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland — likely for GDPR compliance reasons, with no timeline given for European availability.

The feature arrives as the AI chatbot market has evolved from a race to build the smartest model into a battle for user stickiness. Gemini 3.1 Pro currently leads the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at 57 points, tied with GPT-5.4 Pro, after dominating 13 of 16 major benchmarks since its February 19 release. However, privacy analysts have flagged that importing ChatGPT conversations to Gemini means uploading months or years of personal conversations — business strategy, medical questions, code — to Google's infrastructure. Bloomberg reported the feature is part of Google's broader push to close the gap with ChatGPT's estimated 500 million monthly active users.