On April 30th, artificial intelligence giant OpenAI announced that its ChatGPT chatbot will fully roll out the "Memory" feature in markets outside of Europe and South Korea. This enhancement allows the chatbot to "remember" detailed information about ChatGPT Plus premium subscribers, enabling it to offer more personalized services.
OpenAI had already introduced the "Memory" feature back in February this year, enabling ChatGPT to store user queries, prompts, and other personalized content more persistently. Initially, only "a small subset" of users had access to this feature, but now, all ChatGPT Plus premium users outside of Europe and South Korea can utilize the "Memory" feature.
ChatGPT's "memory" feature makes chatbots more personalized in two ways. Users can directly instruct ChatGPT to remember specific details, or ChatGPT can learn through conversations, similar to how other algorithms in our applications operate.
Some users may feel uneasy about chatbots being able to "remember." Therefore, OpenAI assures users that they always have control over the content stored by ChatGPT and the data used for personalized training.
In a blog post, OpenAI mentioned that unlike previous tests, ChatGPT will now notify users when updating its "memory." Users can manage ChatGPT's "memory" by reviewing the extracted content from conversations and even instruct ChatGPT to "forget" details that are no longer needed.
Examples of ChatGPT's "memory" feature include:
A user prefers extracting titles, key points, and specific requirements after meeting notes. ChatGPT will remember this and summarize meeting content accordingly.
A user mentioned a new coffee shop nearby to ChatGPT. When seeking help to brainstorm social media posts celebrating the shop's opening, ChatGPT knows where to start.
A user shared that their toddler, who is learning to walk, likes jellyfish. When asking ChatGPT for help in making a birthday card, it suggests drawing a jellyfish wearing a party hat.
A kindergarten teacher with 25 students prefers 50-minute lessons followed by activities. ChatGPT remembers this when assisting in lesson planning.
ChatGPT can recall specific details during interactions with users. For instance, if a user asks the chatbot to draft an email and later requests to "make it sound more professional," ChatGPT understands the specific need. However, if there is a long wait time or a new conversation begins, previous information will be forgotten.
OpenAI has not explained why the "memory" feature is unavailable in Europe and South Korea. The company plans to introduce the "memory" feature to subscribers of ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Teams and intends to launch it on the GPT Store but has not specified a timeline.
