A conversation goal records what a continued piece of work is intended to achieve. It is available only where the feature is enabled and you can manage the conversation. Shared collaboration and some conversation contexts may not offer it. A goal is not a calendar schedule or a guarantee that work continues indefinitely.

Define a verifiable result

1. 01

   Open the goal controls when available. For an existing goal, read its current statement and state before editing it.

2. 02

   Describe the outcome, allowed scope, exclusions and completion criteria. Keep the statement within the displayed limit; the current editor accepts up to 4,000 characters.

3. 03

   Choose the research depth if that control is offered, then set or update the goal. Check the returned state. If the interface asks for a continuation message, send a clear next instruction.

4. 04

   Pause an active goal when the objective should be suspended; resume a paused goal when appropriate. Cancel when you no longer want that objective pursued. Clear removes the goal from the conversation controls; it is not a command to delete files or reverse earlier actions.

Recover from a changed state

If an action fails or another view changed the goal, reload its state and review the statement before retrying. Do not repeatedly press a control while it is busy. Goal pause and Stop have different scopes: use the current response controls when you need to interrupt active processing, and verify the reported result.

Advanced tips

• Example: “Compare the two approved specification versions. Produce a change table with section references and unresolved questions. Do not modify the source documents. Finish after the table and its sources have been checked.”
• Use one outcome with explicit checkpoints instead of an open-ended instruction such as “improve everything.” Revisit the goal when the project, evidence or intended audience changes.