Memory and new controls for ChatGPT
AI Summary
OpenAI's February 2024 launch post for ChatGPT memory — the first mainstream consumer product to ship persistent cross-session memory. The mechanism is deliberately vague in the post but amounts to automatic summarization of prior chats injected into system context. It reaches hundreds of millions of users with no technical setup, which makes it the most-used agent memory system on earth, and also the one users complain about most (stale facts, wrong inferences, unclear provenance). Read it to see what memory at consumer scale actually looks like, versus what the papers claim.
Original excerpt
How memory works You’re in control Use temporary chat for conversations without memory Custom instructions also allow ChatGPT to be more helpful Evolving our privacy and safety standards Team and Enterprise customers can work more efficiently GPTs will also have memory
_June 3, 2025 update: Memory improvements are starting to roll out for free users. In addition to the saved memories that were there before, ChatGPT now references your recent conversations to provide more personalized responses._ _Free users have a lightweight version of memory improvements that provides short term continuity across conversations. Memory for Plus and Pro users provides a longer term understanding of the…
18 more articles in this vault.
Import the full Agent Memory Patterns vault to Burn 451 and build your own knowledge base.
Content attributed to the original author (OpenAI). Burn 451 curates publicly available writing as a reading index. For removal requests, contact @hawking520.