I got tired of Chat GPT trying to bait me with follow-up questions after every answer — so I made this one easy change | Tech Radar

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I got tired of Chat GPT trying to bait me with follow-up questions after every answer — so I made this one easy change

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I’ve noticed that since the new Chat GPT-5.3 Instant and GPT-5.4 Thinking were released, Chat GPT now ends every answer with (what can best be described as) clickbait to get you to keep the conversation going. Let me explain.

I recently asked Chat GPT about what a heart valve replacement operation is, and it explained it to me perfectly, with helpful images. It gave me everything I needed to know, however at the end of its answer it said:

What it actually feels like to have one (patient experience)

What famous people have had valve surgery (there are quite a few)."

This is a trend I’ve noticed with the new GPT models — they insist on doing some version of this after almost every response. I’m convinced it’s not really about being helpful — it’s more about trying to keep you in the conversation for as long as possible.

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I would have been perfectly happy to leave the conversation there and go on with my day, but it made me start to wonder which famous people have had heart valve surgery… especially with that very tempting, “there are quite a few”, teaser it dropped, which is clearly designed to entice me into asking.

Before you know it, I’d wasted half an hour reading about celebrities instead of doing something useful (it’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mick Jagger, and Bill Clinton, among others, in case you’re interested), thanks to the follow-up bait.

Now, before you also go off down the celebrity heart valve surgery rabbit hole yourself, you might be interested in learning how to stop Chat GPT from ending every response with a list of ways to upsell you into the next part of the conversation.

Personally I don’t mind it too much, but it does become annoying after a while.

Thankfully, making Chat GPT stop this behavior is relatively painless.

For a start, on mobile you can go to Settings and scroll down until you see a slider for Follow-up suggestions and simply turn them off.

Unfortunately, on the web interface of Chat GPT, where I do the majority of my AI chatting, no such slider exists. Instead, you need to find the Custom instructions section in Settings. Go to Personalization, then scroll down.

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Here you can tell Chat GPT how you’d like it to behave. I entered:

“After providing an answer do not suggest related topics, deeper dives, examples, or extras unless directly requested in the user's message. End responses cleanly after delivering the core answer.”

You can copy and paste that if you like, or come up with your own version that meets your specific needs.

After I added this, I wouldn’t say Chat GPT never posted a follow-up suggestion again, but it cut them down enough that the conversation finally felt like a conversation, and not the world’s politest engagement trap. Now, when I want follow up suggestions, I simply ask for them.

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Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at Tech Radar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, i More, Mac Format, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.

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Key Takeaways

• I got tired of Chat GPT trying to bait me with follow-up questions after every answer — so I made this one easy change

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• I’ve noticed that since the new Chat GPT-5

• I recently asked Chat GPT about what a heart valve replacement operation is, and it explained it to me perfectly, with helpful images

• What it actually feels like to have one (patient experience)