Here’s how you can find Fan-out ChatGPT queries

Here’s how you can find Fan-out ChatGPT queries

Robert Goldenowl

- Run any prompt in ChatGPT that triggers a web search.
- Copy the URL slug (the string of characters after the /c/ in your browser bar).
- Right-click anywhere and select Inspect.
- Go to the Network tab, refresh the page, and paste that slug into the filter/search bar. Click on the matching file.
- Switch to the Response tab.
- Search for "search_model_queries".

1) Run any prompt in ChatGPT that triggers a web search

Start by entering a prompt that clearly requires external or up-to-date information. For example:

  1. “Latest news about AI regulation”
  2. “Best restaurants in New York right now”
  3. “How to find the best car in 2026”

You’ll know it worked if ChatGPT shows signs of searching (e.g., references to sources, live results, or browsing behavior). This is important because fan-out queries are only generated when a search actually happens.

2) Copy the URL slug (after /c/ in your browser bar)

Once the response loads, look at your browser’s address bar. You’ll see a URL like:

https://chatgpt.com/c/abc123xyz456...

Copy only the part after /c/ — this is the conversation ID (slug).

This slug helps you identify the exact network requests tied to your session when digging into developer tools.

3) Right-click anywhere → click Inspect

Right-click on the page and choose Inspect (or press Cmd+Option+I on Mac / Ctrl+Shift+I on Windows).

This opens your browser’s Developer Tools, which lets you see everything happening behind the scenes — including API calls ChatGPT makes.

4) Go to the Network tab → refresh → filter by the slug

  1. Click the Network tab at the top of DevTools.
  2. Refresh the page (important so requests reload and are captured).
  3. In the filter/search bar inside the Network tab, paste the slug you copied.

You should now see one or more requests related to your conversation. Click on the most relevant one (usually a request returning structured JSON data).

5) Switch to the Response tab

After clicking the request:

  1. Look for a panel with tabs like Headers, Preview, Response
  2. Click Response

This shows the raw JSON returned by the server — essentially the “behind-the-scenes” data that powered the answer.

6) Search for "search_model_queries"

Inside the Response tab:

  1. Press Cmd+F / Ctrl+F
  2. Search for:search_model_queries

This field contains the fan-out queries — the actual search queries ChatGPT generated internally to retrieve information.

These are valuable because:

  1. They reveal how the model decomposes your prompt
  2. You can reuse or refine them for better search results
  3. They often show multiple angles of the same question (broad → specific)

What you’ll typically see

Instead of just one query, you’ll often find several variations, such as:

  1. A direct query
  2. A more detailed version
  3. A related contextual query

This is the “fan-out” behavior — splitting one prompt into multiple searches to improve coverage.

Done! Now you know how you can find Fan-out ChatGPT queries!