ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude quietly get worse over time. This hidden setting fixes them

I’ve been using LLM-based AI in some capacity for roughly half a decade, and in that time, the industry has changed significantly. Not only have newer competitors like Gemini and Claude arrived on the scene, but older tools like ChatGPT have also evolved dramatically. We’ve seen better third-party app integration, increased reasoning capabilities, and countless other advancements. However, I would argue that the ability to retain memories matters most.

Retaining context from previous conversations helps the AI better anticipate your needs within a single session. It also allows the tool to learn more about you, ensuring that future conversations are tailored to your preferences. However, there is a real downside to memory accumulation that not everyone considers. I’ve found that starting with a new AI usually requires significant input to generate the responses I need and fully understand my user profile. Once it reaches this data “sweet spot,” the AI becomes much more pleasant to use. Yet, slowly over time, the experience often seems to degrade again.

Let’s discuss what causes this gradual erosion, along with some simple maintenance steps to prevent old AI memories from dragging down your experience.

How these old memories can actually erode your AI experience

Old memories can linger long after you no longer need them in a few different ways. Sometimes, random one-off questions or hypothetical tasks are the root of the problem. For example, years ago, I ran a mock simulation of how I would hypothetically invest in the stock market. At the time, I made it clear this was just for fun. Almost six months later, while planning real investments, I asked the AI a related question. It confidently referenced a fake stock I had previously “invested in” and informed me how much its value had increased.

This is why I recommend using your AI’s “incognito” mode for less important inquiries or casual experimentation. This simple step can prevent unneeded memories from forming in the first place. Of course, that is far from the only way unwanted data builds up.

Natural drift as your projects and needs change

Some of this is simply the natural drift of time. You may have given the AI instructions a year ago that were relevant at the time, but your work or personal goals have since evolved. Humans are not static, but an AI sometimes struggles to understand this evolution.

You might assume that newer instructions will naturally overwrite older, conflicting memories. For instance, your previous religious beliefs may have influenced how the AI interacted with you. If you later went through a period of deconstruction and shifted your beliefs, you might mention this in a new conversation.

The AI will then commit your new viewpoint to its memory. The problem is that it may still retain your old, opposing views. This can result in disjointed responses, or an awkward mix of both viewpoints when discussing spirituality.

Memory overload can cause it to mix up memories or skip instructions

We also need to remember that AI models have limited context capabilities. The more an AI learns, the more its instructions and facts can become garbled, diluted, or completely ignored.

For example, I might give Gemini or Claude specific rules on how I want my content edited and to what degree. This could remain true for months or years, but then let’s say my style guide suddenly changes. Even if I tell it about a new rule, it might end up keeping the old one if I’m not specific. The end result is that it will flip-flop inconsistently in how it handles your edits.

You will also notice that as your AI accumulates more memories, projects become more likely to bleed into one another. Recently, I was brainstorming a personal creative writing project in Gemini, and it brought up the name of a fictional country from an older alternate-history setting that had absolutely nothing to do with my current work.

Even if you aren’t running into these specific issues just yet, remember that a longer AI history requires more token usage to access those memories. This not only burns through your context limits faster but also results in noticeably slower response times.

How to clean up AI memories

Now that you understand what causes this slow degradation in reliability, it’s time to clean things up. The exact steps involved will depend on your preferred AI tool.

How to clean up memory in ChatGPT

Cleaning up ChatGPT is actually pretty easy. If you know exactly which memories you are trying to erase, you can simply ask the AI to forget them conversationally. That said, I recommend manually reviewing your entire memory list in most cases.

Start by opening the ChatGPT app. From there, click your profile icon in the bottom-left corner and go to Settings > Personalization. Then, click the Manage button next to the Memory Summary section.

A window will pop up displaying all your saved memories. Depending on your usage, this list could be quite long or very manageable. Take some time to manually review each entry. If you decide to get rid of one, simply click the Trash icon next to it and confirm.

If you want to clear the slate completely and start fresh, go to Settings > Personalization > Manage Memories. From there, scroll to the very bottom and select Clear ChatGPT’s Memory. Confirm the prompt, and all your saved data will be erased.

How to clean up memory in Gemini

It used to be extremely easy to clean up memories in Gemini, but this has changed quite a bit since the arrival of its Personal Intelligence features.

Previously, you could easily view a clean list of all your memories, but that has largely been replaced by an activity log. Basically, Gemini now keeps a working memory log of every chat, starting with “Prompted,” followed by your query. This makes it difficult to seek out specific facts or rules established in past conversations. Instead, you often have to delete entire chats that you suspect might be causing quirky behavior.

This is far from ideal. If you are experiencing genuine issues, the best approach is to ask Gemini to forget specific details in a conversational tone. If you aren’t sure which memories are causing the problem, your best bet is a hard reset.

To wipe the slate, go to Settings > Gemini Apps Activity, click the Delete drop-down menu near the top of the list, select All time, and confirm.

Also, keep in mind that the Personal Intelligence suite includes an Instructions for Gemini page. Here, you can add specific custom instructions or remove outdated ones.

How to clean up memory in Claude

To clean up Claude’s persistent memory, click Settings (in the lower-left sidebar) and select Memory. The window will display a list of memories categorized by your preferences, personal profile, topics of interest, and more. Simply select the category you want to manage.

You can delete an entire memory category by clicking the Delete button, or you can use the chatbox to ask Claude to remove or alter specific memories.

If you decide to clear everything, the easiest way is to uncheck the “Generate memory from chat history” toggle. Claude will then ask if you want to pause your existing memories or reset the entire system.