ChatGPT will provide the best results when you specify more details in the prompt. Instead of asking, “Best birthday party ideas for your daughter,” the results will be more personalized and useful when you ask, “Best birthday party ideas for your 11-year-old daughter who likes chocolates and dinosaurs.” The more information you provide to ChatGPT, the better the results will be.
However, repeating the same details to ChatGPT can be tiresome. This is where the Memory feature comes in. When you specify that your daughter is 11 years old in any conversation, ChatGPT will remember that and use this information when relevant.
Here are some simple examples in action:
Example 1:
Me: Where did we leave off on my last project?
ChatGPT: (Remembers the conversation about the last project) Provides me results to continue the work.
Example 2:
Me: What are some good restaurants in Delhi for lunch?
ChatGPT: (Remembers I am vegetarian and prefer pure veg restaurants) Suggests a list of pure veg restaurants for me.
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How to Manage ChatGPT’s Memory
The memory feature is currently rolling out to all users (both free and paid) and is enabled by default. You can add, update, or remove information as needed:
- Add Info to Memory: ChatGPT adds information to its memory from your conversations automatically. It notifies you with a “Memory updated” message above its answer. Hovering over it will show you the information ChatGPT is adding to its memory. If it doesn’t add the info you want automatically, ask it to remember directly, for example, “Remember I have 7 pairs of shoes.”
- Update Info in Memory: When you provide updated information, ChatGPT replaces outdated info in its memory. For example, if I say, “I now have 9 pairs of shoes” it understands the context and updates my previous information.
- Remove Info from Memory: Similar to adding and updating, you can ask ChatGPT to forget information through your chats. For example, say “Forget that I have 9 pairs of shoes” or “Forget how many shoes I have”.
You can also remove information from memory from ChatGPT settings. Click on your profile picture > Settings > Personalization > Manage. You will see all the info ChatGPT stores and click on the Trash icon next to the information you want to delete.
- Remove all Info from Memory: To clear all the information ChatGPT has stored in its memory, go to your profile picture > Settings > Personalization > Manage and click on the Clear ChatGPT’s memory option.
How to Disable ChatGPT’s Memory
If you don’t want ChatGPT to remember any information, or provide info related to details stored in its memory, you can disable this feature. To turn it off, click on your profile picture > Settings > Personalization and toggle off Memory.
Note that disabling the memory feature does not delete current memory details. You can turn the feature on later to regain access to its memory.
How to Make A Chat Without Using the Memory
If ChatGPT remembers that you like horror movies, it will consider that whenever you ask for movie recommendations. If you want to check results without being restricted by things it remembers in its memory, you don’t have to disable the feature and re-enable it. There is a way to start a chat without using the memory.
Tap on the ChatGPT option at the top and enable the toggle beside Temporary Chat. Whatever you chat about in this temporary chat will not appear in history, OpenAI will not use this chat to train its model, and you cannot use or create memories.
Memory in GPTs
GPTs are custom versions of ChatGPT that come with a set of instructions and additional knowledge. For example, some GPTs are specific to recommending books, some are good for research, and some can help you write better. You can create your custom GPT or use any GPT available in the GPTs store in the sidebar.
ChatGPT cannot remember information from your interactions when chatting with GPTs, but they have their own memory. For example, if you tell a book recommendation GPT that you like comics, it will remember that for later use. However, the GPT builder need to enable the memory feature for this to work. Otherwise, memory features won’t be available with that GPT.
Memory vs Custom Instructions
Last year, OpenAI released a feature called Custom Instructions, where you can specify what you want ChatGPT to know about you and how you want it to respond. With this feature, ChatGPT responds to all queries according to these custom instructions. Memory is a similar feature but more dynamic. It allows you to ask ChatGPT to remember specific details only when needed, rather than all the time. Both features are available and useful for various needs.
