AI memory: what your assistant remembers about you
AI memory lets an assistant remember facts about you from one conversation to the next, such as your job or your preferences. It saves time, but it's worth checking your settings now and then.
Data as of October 22, 2026
Key figures
| Level | Beginner |
|---|---|
| Origin | 2024 |
| Introduced by | OpenAI (mémoire de ChatGPT, annoncée le 13 février 2024) |
An assistant that remembers you
Without memory, every new conversation starts from scratch: the assistant doesn’t know you’re a teacher, a vegetarian, or that you like short answers. With memory, it keeps those details and reuses them later. Mention once that you run a coffee shop, and it will factor that in when you ask for a social media post.
OpenAI announced this feature for ChatGPT on February 13, 2024, first as a test with some users. Other assistants have since added similar features; the AI assistants comparison shows which ones.
Don’t mix these up
- The context window: the « working memory » of a single conversation, meaning what the model can read at once. It’s wiped when you start a new chat.
- Custom instructions: a fixed text you write yourself (« answer briefly, in plain English »).
- Assistant memory: information kept from one conversation to the next, added at your request or automatically, depending on settings.
Developers will also meet a more technical cousin, agent memory: how an AI agent stores and retrieves information to carry out a long task.
Why it matters to you
On the plus side, memory makes answers more relevant and saves you from repeating context.
On the caution side, it stores personal information. A few simple habits:
- Review regularly what the assistant has remembered and delete anything that shouldn’t be there.
- Use a temporary chat for health questions, family issues or confidential documents.
- On a shared computer or work account, check who can see this information.
If you live in the EU, this data is covered by the GDPR, which gives you rights such as access and deletion. Elsewhere, check the provider’s privacy policy and your local privacy laws.
Common misconceptions
- « The AI learns from me in real time. » Memory doesn’t change the model itself: it adds notes the assistant reads before answering you.
- « It remembers everything. » No, it keeps details judged useful, not your full conversation history.
- « Clearing memory clears everything. » Saved chats and other data settings are often managed separately.
Related terms
- Context window · The maximum amount of text (in tokens) a model can read and produce at once, including its own answer.
- Custom instructions · Preferences you save once in an AI assistant (who you are, tone, format) that it then applies to every conversation.
- Agent memory · The mechanisms that let an AI agent store, retrieve and update information beyond a single request or conversation.
- AI assistant · A consumer app such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini that answers, writes, summarizes and helps with everyday tasks using AI.
- GDPR and AI · The EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which also applies to AI tools that process personal data.
Try it
Full glossary
Frequently asked questions
How do I see what the assistant remembers about me?
Assistants with memory usually offer a settings page where you can review it. You can also just ask: « What do you know about me? ». In ChatGPT, it's under Settings, in the Personalization section.
Can I turn memory off?
Yes, with the main assistants you can switch it off in settings. There's often a temporary chat mode too: in ChatGPT, temporary chats don't use existing memories and don't create new ones.
Is memory the same as custom instructions?
No. Custom instructions are text you write yourself, which the assistant applies to every chat. Memory builds up over your conversations, sometimes automatically.
If I delete a chat, is the memory deleted too?
Not necessarily: depending on the service, a memory can be stored separately from the chat it came from. Check the list of memories and delete items one by one if needed.
Data sources
Data as of October 22, 2026
Report an error
Does a figure, a date or a fact look wrong? Tell us: every report is checked.