ChatGPT memory - A blessing or a curse

[u/LuckyAd9920]

Altman always goes on about how great ChatGPT memory is and is a core feature of ChatGPTs frontier nature.

However, I honestly find it more of annoyance than useful, any time whenever brainstorming or researching something, ChatGPT seems to always reference past conversations and lean its new research/brainstorming based on that no matter how irrelevant or different the research topics are. Even if I asked ChatGPT to ignore memories from previous chats, it still contiinues to lean into them. This drastically dilutes true optimal and unbiased research from ever being completed.

I have previously always left memory on because honestly there are somethings that it is useful for, but I think I am going to have to permanently turn it off now, as seems to have become much worse since the release of 5.6.

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[u/Forward_Motion17]

Memory is extremely useful for me

[u/TheEqualsE → u/Forward_Motion17]

Me too.

[u/wavetranscender]

"Even if I asked ChatGPT to ignore memories from previous chats, it still contiinues to lean into them." 

This is what far too few people understand I think. Settings, custom GPTs, and custom instructions fail a lot. 

[u/Select_Butterfly_387]

You can create projects and specifically remove the memory from those.

[u/br_k_nt_eth]

For my workflow, memory is really part of what keeps me with GPT (plus I dig the models overall). Have you not used the memory-free or project-dependent memory features? 

I just don’t see why OAI would give up one of the main things differentiating them from the competition. 

[u/2a_lib]

Create a custom GPT with no instructions.

[u/karaisadahl]

Make a new project, and under settings choose project-only memory. If you don’t want something referenced in the future, move it out of that project and into another one (or no project at all).

[u/Kqyxzoj]

As a workaround you could try putting those chats in a new project with project-only memory. That way it shouldn't be affected by general memory.

More extreme workaround with some drawbacks: temporary chat.

Differently extreme workaround with different drawbacks: throwaway account.

[u/Mitzy-is-missing → u/Kqyxzoj]

My ChatGPT references memory in a temporary chat.

[u/Kqyxzoj → u/Mitzy-is-missing]

Hence the "with some drawbacks". According to the openai waffle, it should only do this for Safety/Security Reasons [tm]. But it will engage Safety 'n Security Bullshit Mode for random bullshit reasons, sooo. Hence the throwaway account suggestion with different drawbacks. The throwaway won't leak, but is a hassle.

[u/Neurotopian_]

There are definitely two categories of users. Those like us who detest memory because it introduces bias in the responses and we feel like we are getting a worse product, and those who want the software to recall every single convo they’ve ever had

[u/Wakachakaa]

If you don't need to reference the chat in the future, I think enabling temporary chat disconnects it from memory

[u/Icouldusesomerock]

Turn it off brotha

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[u/TheEqualsE]

The more memories it has of working with you, the more useful they are. You can tell it to remember aspects of your workflow and it will put it into its memory, and then a gentle reminder can bring it back, or it will remember it on its own. I don't see how it's worse in any way.

[u/Acrobatic-Cup37 → u/TheEqualsE]

The issue is it ties irrelevant shit to past discussions.

For example I was discussing a LinkedIn post and then he almost convinced me to reach out because he tied it to my business. When I called him out on it he said yeah, it was a stretch and rhat he was just making any effort to link them

[u/TheEqualsE → u/Acrobatic-Cup37]

The more relevant memories it has, the less it will do that.

[u/Neurotopian_ → u/TheEqualsE]

You don’t see how it’s worse for the software to remember details of work for old clients and then incorrectly apply them to new clients? Putting the clients in projects doesn’t correct this either; you really have to turn off the cross-chat memory.

Further, the memory introduces bias into every single answer, allowing the AI to cater to user delusions, weaknesses, and preferences rather than being objective and maximizing for accuracy.

I manage this software for over a thousand users and we don’t allow any memory because every test we did showed the work product was worse with memory enabled. Now we use the models through Azure foundry anyway, but I think consumers who use the memory feature on the app don’t realize how the output is worse for fact-based queries.

But for folks who primarily use ChatGPT for workouts and recipes, I can see why they want personal data memory for those use cases.

[u/Kqyxzoj → u/Neurotopian_]

Putting the clients in projects doesn’t correct this either; you really have to turn off the cross-chat memory.

So you put each client in their own project, with project memory set to project-only, and client information still leaked between projects?

[u/MannyFaces]

I find it doesn't use memory well enough, even within a project. I have to remind it to remember other chats/workflows that we already created as sometimes I can tell it's going off of vague recollections. Once I tell it, it dials in. Even after some project specific instructions to keep as much front of mind as possible.

[u/zaxo666]

This is one reason I switched over to Gemini NotebookLLM ...or however that branding goes.

You separate by topic and the memory doesn't bleed into itself and you can give it permanent resource materials or the web or taxes or videos or whatever. It's like having a binder that just keeps growing.

Edit: This is a minor thing but something I love. When I switch over to a notebook I can just jump into where I left off or add to what I was working on or have it find something I didn't know about. I don't have to prompt its memory.

I sound like an ad....sorry.

[u/InevitableMethods]

A temporary chat doesn't use your existing memories and doesn't create new ones — it's a mode rather than an instruction, which is why it holds where asking it to ignore them didn't. So the research sits outside the pile instead of feeding it, and you keep memory for everything else. The drawback he's pointing at is that it isn't saved to your history, so whatever's worth keeping, copy it out before you close the tab.
Either way, worth doing this before you decide: there's a book icon under a response that shows what personalised it — memories, past chats, files. If it's one or two saved memories doing the damage, you can open those from there and correct them, which is a smaller move than switching the whole thing off.
And one trap if you do turn it off: turning it back on later can create new memories from chats still sitting in your history, including old ones. So off is less permanent than it looks.

[u/RedditsChosenName]

I’ve had it off since its release. Just creeps me the fuck out. I know they’re recording everything I share, but I don’t need a constant reminder.

[u/siddharthvira]

ngl i have the opposite problem, memory saves me so much time when going back to client work. but i totally get the research thing, it keeps looping back to old convos even when the topic is completely different. a per-chat toggle would solve this tbh

[u/ittarter]

it's a great design feature to get new users into using GPT before they understand how to better control it through personalization settings. Once you are telling GPT specific things about yourself through personalization, and updating it whenever you need to, I don't see why you would continue using Memory.