OpenAI Gives ChatGPT a Customizable Memory
OpenAI has started rolling out a new memory feature for ChatGPT that enables the generative AI chatbot to recall and build upon details from previous conversations. ChatGPT’s memory carries over key details shared by users with the AI relating to their preferences and personal information, cutting out the need for repetition, with controls to shape exactly what ChatGPT’s memory holds onto (like an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless AI Mind)
ChatGPT Remembers
As an example, OpenAI describes how ChatGPT could recall that a user owns a coffee shop when helping craft a social media post or remember a teacher’s preferred lesson plan structure when assisting with curriculum design. Users remain in control of what’s remembered and can delete memories at any time. They can also turn memory off fully through settings. ChatGPT’s memory is available to a small but growing pool of users ahead of a wider launch. OpenAI plans to eventually launch memory for custom GPTs built by third-party developers too.
“As you chat with ChatGPT, you can ask it to remember something specific or let it pick up details itself. ChatGPT’s memory will get better the more you use it and you’ll start to notice the improvements over time,” OpenAI explained in a blog post. “GPTs will have their own distinct memory. Builders will have the option to enable memory for their GPTs. Like your chats, memories are not shared with builders. To interact with a memory-enabled GPT, you will also need to have memory on.”
Some GPTs already employ the memory feature, according to OpenAI. That’s how the Books GPT remembers the books a user previously read and their favorite genres. But, each GPT will have distinct memory capabilities that don’t cross over to the main ChatGPT program. The memory feature also brings additional privacy considerations that OpenAI aims to navigate carefully. OpenAI said ChatGPT won’t proactively store sensitive information without explicit direction. The company said enterprise customers can keep organizational memories private. As an additional privacy provision, there’s a new Temporary Chat option for ChatGPT that will cut out any existing memories of previous conversations and won’t apply the conversation to future memories, though custom instructions saved to the profile will still be employed. And even temporary chats will be saved for a month for “safety,” OpenAI said.
The new features come on the heels of a slew of updates to ChatGPT, including a way for users to mention and invoke custom GPTs during a conversation. That followed the rollout of new models designed to make ChatGPT work harder. The memories feature is big though, reminiscent of the rush by OpenAI last year to give ChatGPT the ability to search online for answers and multimodal options that allow for verbal conversations and enable the AI to process images in addition to text as well as document and PDF analysis. Other improvements are quieter, but features like chat archiving still work to improve how well the generative AI chatbot functions.
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OpenAI is Rolling Out ‘GPT Mentions’ in ChatGPT to Invoke Custom GPTs
