Things are about to get a lot more personal with ChatGPT, following OpenAI’s latest announcement that its testing a memory feature for the chatbot.
The new feature will remember saved chats and preferences, so anything a user has previously asked or discussed with the chatbot will be used when providing new, more personalized responses.
The update comes following the recent news that ChatGPT is joining the 3D world of Apple Vision Pro, further blurring the lines of artificial intelligence and reality.
How Will Memory Work?
According to a blog post from OpenAI announcing the feature, memory will work in two ways: by users asking it to remember something specifically or by allowing the chatbot to pick up on preferences itself.
So for instance you could explain that you regularly travel to New York and are always on the lookout for coffee spots that have just opened up, or your company has certain tone, voice and format preferences for blog posts which it should adhere to.
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On the other hand, you can leave ChatGPT to pick up on those details over time, storing information every time you ask a question.
The ultimate aim is for the chatbot to feel more and more personal, without needing to be reminded of who you are and what you like.
For now, memory is only being rolled out to a “small portion” of both free and Plus users for testing. It will be sharing broader roll out plans soon.
How to Turn Off ChatGPT Memory Feature
On the surface this may feel like ChatGPT’s overt way of collecting and saving mass amounts of personal data and preferences from users for training or other purposes. However, OpenAI has been clear that its chatbot won’t get carried away and users are to remain very much in the driving seat.
Memory can be turned off at any time by tapping on Settings > Personalization > Memories. The feature then won’t be able to create or use the things you share with it.
Similarly, if you’ve had it on but would prefer ChatGPT to forget everything, you simply need to tell it to do so. All memories can also be viewed and deleted by heading to Settings > Personalization > Manage Memories.
Much like how other internet services create a profile of you as a user based on interactions and preferences with their digital applications, ChatGPT’s memories will evolve with every prompt and question. However, they won’t be linked to conversations, meaning you can’t just delete a chat to erase a memory. This must be done by deleting the memory itself.
Custom GPTs To Enable Memory Too
OpenAI has confirmed that Custom GPTs will have their own distinct memories too, although the stored information won’t be shared automatically from ChatGPT, but rather will need to be enabled by its builder.
The company shared the Artful Greeting Card GPT as an example. Say you wish to create a birthday card for your daughter who loves jellyfish. Providing you share that information with the GPT in a one-off instance, it’ll remember it year after year for future jellyfish-themed greetings cards.
GPTs will have to wait for this feature however, until memory is rolled out more broadly.
