thick stratus
From a user perspective, the sidebar feels cognitively heavy due to multiple items with different purposes appearing at the same hierarchy level.
A possible improvement could be adjusting the default state and information hierarchy rather than adding new features.
One idea is to keep only immediate actions visible at the top (such as search, starting a ChatGPT conversation, apps, and image-related actions), while grouping work context, group conversations, and personal chat history into collapsible sections.
Adding one additional folder level for projects, group chats, and personal chat history could help reduce initial cognitive load and make navigation feel calmer and more intentional.