AI Tool Keyboard Shortcuts Compared
AI chatbots have quickly become daily tools for millions of people. Whether you use them for writing, coding, research, or brainstorming, most of these tools support keyboard shortcuts that speed up your interaction and keep your hands off the mouse.
This guide compares shortcuts across six of the most popular AI assistants: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, and Grok. All shortcuts listed here apply to the web versions of these tools. Desktop and mobile apps may differ.
Core Actions Compared
These are the shortcuts you will use most often when chatting with an AI assistant. The basics are remarkably consistent across tools, but the differences show up quickly once you move beyond sending messages.
| Action | Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submit message | Enter | Enter | Enter | Enter | Enter |
| New line without sending | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter |
| New chat / conversation | Cmd + Shift + O | Cmd + Shift + O | Cmd + Shift + O | Not available | Cmd + K |
| Focus input / message box | Shift + Esc | Shift + Esc | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Copy last response | Cmd + Shift + ; | Cmd + Shift + ; | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Stop generating | Esc | Esc | Esc | Esc | Esc |
Note: macOS shortcuts are shown above. On Windows and Linux, replace Cmd with Ctrl in most cases.
Text Formatting in AI Chat
All major AI tools render Markdown in their responses, but not all of them support Markdown formatting in your input. Here is how formatting support compares when typing messages.
| Format | Syntax | Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bold | **text** |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Italic | *text* |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inline code | `code` |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Code block | ```code``` |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link | [text](url) |
Yes | Yes | Limited | Limited | Yes |
While the AI tools will understand Markdown in your prompts regardless of whether the input box renders it visually, tools like Claude and ChatGPT give you a richer editing experience with visible formatting as you type.
Navigation Shortcuts
Once you have accumulated many conversations, being able to search and navigate quickly becomes important. Support for navigation shortcuts varies significantly between tools.
| Action | Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search conversations | Cmd + K | Cmd + / | Not available | Not available | Cmd + K |
| Toggle sidebar | Cmd + Shift + S | Cmd + Shift + S | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Scroll up / down | Space / Shift + Space | Space / Shift + Space | Space / Shift + Space | Space / Shift + Space | Space / Shift + Space |
| Jump to top / bottom | Home / End | Home / End | Home / End | Home / End | Home / End |
Claude and ChatGPT lead here with dedicated keyboard shortcuts for searching past conversations and toggling the sidebar. Gemini and Copilot rely more heavily on mouse-based navigation for these actions.
Unique Features by Tool
Claude
Claude offers a polished set of keyboard shortcuts. Cmd + K opens a quick search overlay that lets you find and jump to any past conversation. Claude also supports artifacts, which are standalone documents, code files, and visualizations that appear alongside the chat. Projects let you organize conversations and uploaded files into workspaces, making Claude particularly well-suited for longer and more structured work sessions.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT has one of the broadest shortcut sets among AI tools. Notable shortcuts include Cmd + Shift + ; for voice mode and Cmd + Shift + O for starting a new chat. ChatGPT also supports custom instructions that persist across conversations, and its GPT-4 canvas feature provides an interactive editing surface for longer documents and code.
Gemini
Gemini currently has more limited keyboard shortcut support compared to Claude and ChatGPT. The core shortcuts for sending messages and creating new lines work as expected, but Gemini lacks dedicated shortcuts for searching conversations or toggling UI panels. Google has been steadily expanding Gemini's features, so shortcut support may improve over time.
Copilot
Microsoft Copilot's strength lies in its integration with the broader Microsoft ecosystem rather than standalone keyboard shortcuts. When used within Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams, Copilot inherits those applications' extensive shortcut systems. The web-based Copilot chat interface is more limited in its shortcut support, focusing primarily on the basics of message input and response management.
Perplexity
Perplexity differentiates itself with its search-first approach. Cmd + K opens the search bar, and Perplexity supports focus mode shortcuts that let you narrow your search to specific sources like academic papers, Reddit discussions, or YouTube videos. The / commands provide quick access to different search types directly from the input box.
Which AI Tool Has the Best Shortcuts?
ChatGPT and Claude tend to have the most comprehensive keyboard shortcut support among AI assistants. Both offer shortcuts for starting new conversations, searching history, toggling the sidebar, and copying responses, which goes well beyond what most competitors provide.
That said, every tool covered here shares the fundamental shortcuts that matter most: Enter to send, Shift + Enter for new lines, and Esc to stop generation. If you are switching between multiple AI tools, these core shortcuts will transfer seamlessly.
It is worth noting that these shortcuts can change frequently as AI tools update their interfaces. The information in this guide reflects the current state of each tool's web application, but new shortcuts are added regularly. Check the individual shortcut pages linked above for the most up-to-date references.