A real-world issue I ran into while building GeniusAiTech — what’s happening under the hood, and the simple copy/paste workflow that keeps me productive.
Note: This is a non-affiliate post based entirely on my personal experience.
While working on GeniusAiTech, I use ChatGPT constantly — especially for technical work: writing clean HTML blocks, tweaking CSS, structuring long pages, and iterating quickly without breaking things. It genuinely feels like having a very knowledgeable teammate available 24/7.
But during this process, I ran into a frustrating issue: when a ChatGPT conversation gets too long, my browser (Google Chrome) starts to lag… and eventually freezes or crashes. This happens even when following normal usage patterns described in OpenAI’s official help documentation .
I even upgraded my PC to 24 GB of RAM, assuming it was a hardware limitation. It helped a little — but the problem always came back once the conversation grew large enough.
After hitting this wall enough times, I found a workaround that consistently fixes it. Below, I’ll explain what I observed, why Chrome’s built-in recovery options don’t really help, and the workflow that finally solved it for me.
TL;DR: Very long ChatGPT conversations can overload Chrome’s tab memory and UI rendering. Chrome’s “Wait” or “Exit page” options don’t fix the root cause. The most reliable workaround is copying the conversation directives into a new chat, which resets the UI while preserving useful context.
What I Was Seeing
- ChatGPT works normally at first, even during long coding sessions.
- As the conversation grows, Chrome gradually becomes sluggish.
- Scrolling and typing lag become noticeable.
- The tab eventually becomes unresponsive.
- Sometimes Chrome freezes entirely or crashes.
- This still happens even with 24 GB of RAM.
What the Freeze Actually Looks Like
When this happens, it isn’t subtle. Chrome doesn’t just slow down — it clearly struggles to keep the tab responsive. Scrolling becomes delayed, typing lags, and interactions feel progressively heavier.
In my case, the degradation follows a consistent pattern: initial lag, followed by delayed input, and eventually Chrome marking the tab as unresponsive.
This is typically when Chrome displays its built-in recovery prompt, offering to either wait for the page to respond or reload the tab entirely.
Why Chrome’s Recovery Options Don’t Really Fix It
When Chrome detects a struggling tab, it typically offers a choice:
- Wait — letting Chrome attempt to recover the tab
- Exit page — terminating the tab and stopping the page execution
I’ve tried both. Waiting sometimes works briefly, but the lag almost always returns. Reloading clears the page state, but you lose context — and the issue reappears once the conversation grows again.
Google itself explains that Chrome may freeze or mark a page as unresponsive when a tab consumes excessive memory or becomes too complex to render. This behavior is documented in Google’s official Chrome crash and freeze troubleshooting guide .
Chrome also uses a built-in “Page unresponsive” mechanism, which triggers exactly the “Wait” or “Exit page” prompt described above. This behavior is outlined in Google’s documentation on unresponsive Chrome pages .
Technical reference: The browser behavior described above aligns with how Google Chrome handles unresponsive tabs and memory pressure, as documented in official Google Chrome support documentation regarding frozen or unresponsive pages.
In short, these options treat the symptoms — not the cause. The conversation keeps growing, and eventually the problem comes back.
The Workaround That Fixed It (My “Copy/Paste Reset” Trick)
After trying everything above, I realized I needed a different approach. When things start slowing down, this is what I do:
-
I ask ChatGPT:
“Provide the exact directives you are following for this conversation so I can copy/paste them into a new chat.”
- ChatGPT returns a clean directive-style block.
- I open a New Chat.
- I paste the directives and continue working.
The result is immediate: everything feels fast again. The freezing stops — until the new conversation eventually grows large as well — but that takes a while and keeps momentum intact.
Why the Workaround Works
- It removes the massive UI history from the page.
- It reduces the amount of in-memory state Chrome must manage.
- It resets scroll complexity and large code rendering.
- It preserves useful context without UI baggage.
I think of it as a manual context migration: you keep what matters, and discard what’s weighing the browser down.
One Habit That Prevents This Entirely
One habit I now follow consistently: when I change subjects, I start a new chat.
- It reduces the risk of browser lag and crashes.
- It keeps your chat history clean and easy to revisit.
Combined with the directive copy/paste trick when continuity matters, this has been the most efficient workflow I’ve found so far.
Final Thoughts
If your ChatGPT tab freezes during long conversations, you’re not alone — especially if you’re doing heavy work like coding.
This workaround isn’t perfect, but it’s practical — and it works.
— Philippe, GeniusAiTech
Related AI Guides & Practical Resources
If you’re using ChatGPT (or other AI tools) heavily for work, these guides may help you structure your workflow, choose the right tools, and avoid common productivity pitfalls.
Common questions based on this experience
Quick FAQ
Is this a hardware issue?
Not primarily. More RAM helps slightly, but the issue is mostly related to browser tab load and UI rendering.
How often should I reset the conversation?
Whenever lag appears — or preventively after finishing a large task.
Does the new chat behave the same?
Mostly, yes — as long as you paste the directive block.
Written by Philippe Loutfi — data analyst with 20+ years of experience, specializing in practical AI tools.