Story
When the AI uses what it remembers about me, I want to see what it used and change or forget it, so old facts stop shaping new answers.
Kenji, an office worker in Osaka training for his first marathon, planning runs on his phone at lunch.
- 01 Setting
Kenji asks for this week's running plan.
- 02 Trigger
The plan is easy, to protect his knee. His knee healed weeks ago.
- 03 Without it
He asks how it knows. "You mentioned it in August." There is nothing he can see or change.
- 04 With it
He taps "Used 2 memories" and the list opens. He deletes the knee memory.
- 05 Outcome
He asks again and gets a real training week, with hills on Thursday.
Live demo
This demo follows a script, so it plays the same every time - there is no real AI behind it. Change a setting to see the same moment play out differently.
What happens, step by step
| State | The person sees | The AI is | When | Screen reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The ask. | Starts. | 0 s | - |
| 2 | The answer, and under it "Used 2 memories". | Writes. | - | “Generating a response” |
| 3 | Each memory as 1 plain sentence. A dot marks the ones used in this answer. Edit and delete on each. | Idle. | on tap | “Memory, 3 items” |
| 4 | Delete crosses out the memory with Undo. Pause greys the list: "Nothing new is saved or used." | Idle. | on tap | “Memory deleted, or Memory paused” |
| 5 | The next answer no longer uses the old fact, and says which memories it used. | Writes. | - | “Response complete” |
| 6 | The AI uses old facts with no sign and no list. People can only ask. | - | - | - |
On each device
- phone
- The "Used 2 memories" link opens a bottom sheet with the list. Edit and delete sit at the end of each row, at least 44 px.
- tablet
- As on the phone, or as a side panel in landscape.
- desktop
- The link opens a popover (a small card that floats over the page) by the answer. The full list, with search, Pause and Delete all, lives in Settings.
When to use it
- The AI keeps facts about people across chats - their goals, health, family, work.
- Old facts can go stale and make answers wrong.
- People share personal things they may later want forgotten.
- People want 1 chat that is not saved or remembered at all. Use Temporary chat instead.
- The question is whether data is used to train the AI, not what it remembers about 1 person. Use Consent and data controls instead.
- The AI only uses the current chat and remembers nothing after it - there is nothing to control.
The parts of the pattern
- AMemory used"Used 2 memories" under the answer. Shows memory at work, at the moment it matters.
- B1 memoryA plain sentence people can read and judge. A dot shows it was used in this answer.
- CEdit and deleteOn every memory. Delete gives Undo for a few seconds.
- DPauseStops using and saving memory without deleting it. Different from Delete all.
Do and Avoid
An easy week, to go gently on your knee.
Used 2 memories
An easy week, to go gently on your knee.
Memory: Settings › Personal › Data › Memory
Hurt his left knee in August
Training for the Osaka Marathon in February
Edit · Delete on each
health: knee_injury=true; sport: running
Delete all memory
Writing and accessibility
- Write each memory as 1 short sentence about the person: "Runs before work, around 6:00".
- Say how many memories were used: "Used 2 memories". Not "Personalised for you".
- Explain Pause in 1 line: "Nothing new is saved or used. Your memories are kept."
- Before Delete all, say what goes and that it cannot be undone.
- Name edit and delete with the memory: "Delete: Hurt his left knee in August".
- Announce "Memory deleted" with an Undo button that stays until focus moves on.
- The Pause switch has a visible text state ("On", "Paused"), not only colour or position.
- Do not show "used in this answer" by colour alone - add text or a label to the dot for screen readers.
Seen in real products
- ChatGPTWeb and apps · Nov 2026A memory summary people can correct by typing or by highlighting text. "Don't mention this again" reduces future references without deleting the source. Sources under a response can show the memories used.OpenAI Help: Memory FAQ ↗
- ClaudeWeb, desktop and mobile · Nov 2026Settings lists memory as Topics to edit or delete. Pause keeps memory but stops using and making it; Reset deletes it all. Memory can be turned off for 1 chat from the + menu before the first message.Claude Help: How does Claude's memory work ↗
Each example comes from the product’s help pages, release notes or teardowns, with the month it was checked. Products change every month - tell us when 1 is out of date.
Check yourself
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