ChatGPT Is Getting a Long-term Memory

ChatGPT may soon remember things you tell it between conversations. OpenAI announced earlier this week that it is experimenting with a form of "long-term" memory for the AI chatbot that should let it recall things in between interactions.

The feature is currently only available to a small number of ChatGPT users, but OpenAI says that it will be able to remember things like whether you prefer meeting notes summarized in a specific way, or if you have told ChatGPT that you own a neighborhood shop. It will then be able to memorize this information and use it to provide better responses whenever you ask it specific things.

One nice thing about this upcoming feature is that OpenAI is putting a lot of control in the hands of the users. You'll be able to control the personalization settings for ChatGPT from the Settings > Personalization > Memory page. When turned off, ChatGPT won't remember things that you tell it not to. You'll also be able to view and delete specific memories or clear them all out in one action.

The goal here, OpenAI says, is to have memories in ChatGPT evolve with your interactions without having them linked to specific conversations. And deleting an older chat won't erase the memories that ChatGPT has from it, either, so those of us who like cleaner chats won't have to worry about holding onto old conversations too long.

If you like having memory turned on but want to have a conversation with ChatGPT that doesn't record anything, then you can also use what OpenAI calls a Temporary Chat, which is sort of like the equivalent of an incognito window. This chat won't appear in your history, they won't use memory, and they won't be used to train any of OpenAI's models.

You can also further customize ChatGPT's memory by setting custom instructions on how much you want it to know about you, and even how you would like to respond. OpenAI says that it is providing these controls to the users as a way to make sure its privacy and safety standards keep up with ChatGPT's advancements.

Keep in mind that different ChatGPT plugins may affect how your information is used, too, so that's something to always be aware of.