ChatGPT Plus just got a major update that might make it feel more human – here’s how the new memory feature works
Artificial intelligence may seem a little less artificial these days now that Memory is live for all ChatGPT Plus users.
After a few months of testing in both the free and paid versions of the generative AI chatbot, OpenAI has chosen to enable the feature only for paying customers in all regions except Korea and Europe.
ChatGPT’s memory is exactly what it sounds like. During prompt-driven “conversations” with the AI, ChatGPT Plus can now remember key facts about the conversations, including details about you, and then apply that information to future interactions. In other words, ChatGPT Plus just graduated from a somewhat disinterested acquaintance to a friend who cares enough to remember that it’s your birthday next week or that you recently bought a dog.
You can tell the system to remember something implicitly or simply state facts about yourself that it will remember.
I know, it’s something that could make AIs like ChatGPT much more useful, if not more terrifying. So far, we’ve mainly dealt with generative AIs that had intense short-term memory loss. Systems like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft CopIlot could have long, discrete conversations while retaining context well (the longer the conversation, the weirder it could get). However, when you ended one conversation and started another, it was like meeting a completely different person who knew nothing about you or the conversation you had three minutes ago.
Unlike human memory, which can remember some things forever but easily forget others, ChatGPT Plus memory is in your control.
ChatGPT Plus memory management
As I mentioned earlier, you can help ChatGPT Plus build its memory by telling it things about yourself that you want it to remember. By doing this you will find that when you ask for example your age or where you live, the device can tell you. ChatGPT will also take these details and combine them with future questions, which can shorten your conversation and make the results more accurate and useful.
Memory is enabled by default. You will find it under Settings/Personalization. There is a toggle switch that allows you to turn it off.
To see all ChatGPT Plus reminders, select and toggle the Manage button, which is located directly below the reminder description. Even though I told ChatGPT Plus to remember things about me, my memory box initially remained empty. Once I found one, I could delete them all or select just the ones I wanted to delete.
However, when I told ChatGPT, “I really like houseplants,” I saw a little note appear right above the response that said, “Memory updated.” When I selected that, the reminder “Loves houseplants” appeared below it, and directly below that a link to Manage Reminders.
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When I later asked ChatGPT Plus how to brighten up my home, it responded in part (I’ve bolded the relevant bit): “Adding houseplants is a great way to brighten up your home! They not only beautify the space, but it also improves air quality and can improve your mood. Because you like houseplantsyou might consider diversifying the species you have….”
As noted, memory is not free. A ChatGPT Plus subscription, which gives you access to the GPT-4 model among other things, costs $20 / £20 per month. I’ve asked OpenAI if a version of Memory will be available for non-paying ChatGPT users and will update this post with their response.
Of course, ChatGPT Plus Memory is pushing generative AI toward humanity, but there’s no way, as far as I know, to get into someone’s mind and delete some or all of their memories.
Although you can disable Reminders, you might like the middle option, which uses the new “Temporary Chat” to introduce short-term memory loss into the system.
To use it, choose the desired ChatGPT model from the drop-down menu and then select “Temporary Chat”. Now nothing you share during that chat with ChatGPT Plus will be added to memory.
Come to think of it, a true friend who only remembers what you want can come in handy.