One of the big drawbacks of talking to an AI chatbot is that everything resets once the conversation is done. It won’t remember who you are or what you previously queried. This is by design, for privacy reasons, but it really hampers the tech from growing into a true digital assistant that knows you well enough to actually help with stuff.
OpenAI is trying to fix this issue and is finally adding a memory feature to ChatGPT. This will allow the bot to remember important personal details from prior conversations and apply that context to current queries.
Here’s how it works. You can actually tell ChatGPT to remember something specific, like that your child is allergic to peanuts or how you prefer to sign emails. It’ll automatically store this data as requested and apply it to future conversations and tasks.
Beyond that, the system will pick up stuff over time. It’ll naturally store data as you perform queries. The goal is for the chatbot to become smarter and, more importantly, attuned to your specific needs.
Additionally, each custom GPT will have its own unique memory. OpenAI gives Books GPT as an example, as the bot will remember which books you’ve already read and what genres you like. The GPT Store is filled with unique chatbots that would absolutely benefit from this memory feature.
This doesn’t seem too different from how the internet already works. Apps store personal data, as do websites and social networks. This data is then leveraged to create a unique user profile, which is used to develop personalized algorithms. However, there are significant privacy concerns with the standard way of doing things that absolutely carry over to this memory feature.
