Help
Comparing and the baseline
Last updated: 14 September 2026
See what is new, missing, or moved when you compare columns side by side.
Columns stay in the order they were generated (oldest on the left). Circle numbers match that generation order and stay with each column. When compare tools are on, Explorer compares each column to a reference column called the baseline. Markers show what is new, what is missing, and whether a shared phrase moved up or down the list.
Use this to spot whether a new or adjusted column looks better than the baseline. Comparing does not change how the next batch of ideas is built — it is only a way to read the columns.
What the markers mean
- Same — the phrase is in both the baseline and this column.
- New — the phrase is only in this column.
- Removed — in baseline compare: present in the baseline but not in this column.
- Rank change — the phrase is in both, but higher or lower in the list.
Use these as the baseline
On any column that is not already the baseline, choose Use these as the baseline (also in the column menu). That column pins to the left while compare tools are on and becomes the new reference. Markers update. Generation numbers stay the same, and the natural left-to-right order returns when compare tools are turned off.
This does not run a new search and does not change which phrases are used when you grow the next column. Growing still uses the column you expand from — its saved and rejected phrases — no matter which column is the baseline.