What is a swipe in AI chat?
Updated
A swipe is a request for a different version of the AI character's latest reply. The app sends the same conversation to the model again, gets a new answer, and keeps the earlier versions so you can flip back and forth and continue from the one you like. UnsavedAI and SillyTavern both work this way; some apps call it regenerate or reroll.
Try it now, free, no account neededStart a story with Lucien AshmoreYour cheap new castle came with its vampire ownerHow a swipe works
Language models choose each word with some randomness, controlled by settings like temperature. Ask the same question twice and you get two different replies. A swipe uses that on purpose: nothing about the story changes, the model simply rolls again.
Say Lucien Ashmore answers your knock with a reply that feels flat. Swipe, and the next version might have him opening the door before you finish knocking, or ignoring you from the stairs. You see "2 of 2" (or arrows) and can go back to the first if it was better after all. Whatever version is showing when you write your next message is the one the story continues from.
Swipe, edit or OOC?
- Swipe when the reply is fine in direction but weak in execution: dull wording, wrong mood, too short.
- Edit your own last message and resend when the model misunderstood what you meant.
- Use an OOC note when you want the story to go somewhere specific that rerolling will not find by chance.
- If three swipes in a row make the same mistake, the cause is in the prompt (the card, your message, or a setting), not luck.
Common mistakes
- Swiping endlessly for a perfect line. Two or three tries usually find a good one; beyond that you are steering by dice.
- Expecting variety at very low temperature. If every swipe reads almost the same, temperature or other samplers are set too tight.
- Swiping on the first message to change the opening. That is a different feature: alternate greetings.
- Forgetting that swipes cost a generation each, which matters on services with message limits.
Swipes in UnsavedAI and other apps
In SillyTavern the arrow on the right of the last message swipes, and the left arrow goes back. On UnsavedAI you can ask for a new version of the character's latest reply and use the arrows under it to move between versions; only the version showing is sent to the model, never the ones you swiped away. Guest messages count swipes too. On JanitorAI and Character.AI a similar control lets you get another reply. Try it with a character who has a lot of range, like Loki, where each version can take the scene somewhere new.
Questions people ask
Does swiping change the AI's memory?
Only the version you keep becomes part of the story. The model never sees the versions you swiped past.
Why are my swipes almost identical?
Your temperature or min_p is probably very conservative, or the context strongly points one way. Raise temperature slightly or change your own message.
