Have you ever worked on a project, taken a break, and then forgotten where you left off? It happens to everyone. You spend precious time rereading old notes just to get back on track. A new feature in Claude AI aims to solve this exact problem. It can now remember your past chats, but it does so in a special way that puts you in control.
This guide will explain how this new memory works, why it’s different from other AI tools, and how you can use it to make your work easier.
Table of Contents
How Claude’s Memory Works for You
Think of Claude’s new memory like a helpful assistant. This assistant keeps all your past conversations in a locked file cabinet. The assistant won’t look at those files unless you specifically ask them to. When you say, “Hey, what did we talk about last week regarding the marketing plan?” the assistant unlocks the cabinet, finds the right notes, and gives you a summary.
This is what “on-demand” memory means. Claude doesn’t automatically bring up old information. You have to ask it to search your past conversations. This is a big deal because it means you won’t be surprised by the AI bringing up something from an old chat unexpectedly. You can continue your projects without having to start from scratch every single time. The feature works across the web, your computer, and your phone, keeping everything in sync.
A Major Difference: Your Privacy Comes First
Other AI tools, like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, have a memory that is always on. They are constantly learning from your chats to build a detailed profile about you. This can be helpful for personalization, but it also means the AI is always watching and remembering everything.
Claude takes a different approach. An Anthropic spokesperson confirmed that Claude does not build a user profile. It only retrieves information when you give it a command. This design choice is focused on user privacy and control. You get the benefit of recalling information without feeling like your every word is being stored in a permanent record to define you.
Getting Started with Claude’s Memory Feature
This new ability is first becoming available to users on the paid plans: Max, Team, and Enterprise. Anthropic has said it will expand to other plans soon.
Here is what you need to know to use it:
- How to Use It: You don’t need special commands. Just ask Claude naturally. For example, you can say, “Find our conversation about last quarter’s sales figures,” or “Let’s pick up where we left off on that report”.
- It’s On By Default: Once the feature is available for your account, it is turned on automatically. You can start using it right away.
- How to Turn It Off: If you don’t want Claude to have the ability to search your chats, you can disable it. Go to Settings, click on Profile, and find the toggle labeled “Search and reference chats.” You can switch it off there.
- Removing a Chat from Memory: The only way to make sure a specific conversation is never included in a search is to delete that chat entirely.
More Ways to Personalize Your Claude Experience
Beyond the on-demand memory, Claude offers other tools to make the AI work better for you. These features help Claude understand your needs without creating a persistent profile.
Profile Preferences
These are general instructions for how you want Claude to act in all your chats. You can tell it your job, your preferred communication style (like formal or casual), or concepts you use often. You set this once in your profile settings.
Project Instructions
This feature is for paid users. It lets you give Claude specific context for a single project. For example, if you’re working on a set of legal documents, you can give Claude instructions to always act as a paralegal and use a formal tone, but only for chats within that project.
Styles
Styles change how Claude delivers its answers. You can choose from presets like “concise” for short answers or “explanatory” for detailed ones. You can even create your own custom style to make Claude’s responses sound more like your own writing.
By using these features together, you can tailor your experience for maximum productivity while keeping your conversations private and focused. Claude’s approach gives you powerful tools without taking away your control.