AI memory is information a tool keeps or selects from earlier sessions to shape later responses. In a writing app, that might mean a preferred spelling style, genre, or recurring details about a book project. Products may call it memory, personalization, or project memory, and the storage and controls vary.
Memory is useful for stable context, but it is not necessarily a complete record of every chat or a copy of your manuscript. OpenAI’s Memory documentation, checked 3 October 2026, says ChatGPT may use saved memories, past chats, and other available sources; it does not retain every detail, and features vary by plan and workspace.
Three mechanisms often sit alongside one another: the context window is the material supplied for the current turn; retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) searches a document collection for relevant passages; memory carries selected context between sessions. A tool may combine them. Keep the manuscript and series facts you need to preserve in their source files, and use memory for preferences or background that should travel with future chats. (Memory in ChatGPT)