What Is Agent Memory?

Agent memory is the durable store an agent keeps across sessions — what it has learned, done and been told — as opposed to the context window, which is the transient working set a model sees for a single turn. Memory lets an agent accumulate state and act consistently over time; it also raises governance questions, because what an agent remembers about people and counterparties is data that must be handled, bounded and, when required, forgotten.

Memory

Durable, across sessions

Context window

Transient, one turn

Enables

Consistency and accumulated state

Raises

Data governance and the right to be forgotten

Durable state, with obligations

An agent that remembers is more capable and more accountable at once: its past is now data it holds. That makes memory a governance surface as much as a capability — what it retains about counterparties, how long, and whether it can be made to forget are questions an autonomous organisation has to answer, not leave implicit.

Questions

Is agent memory the same as a context window?

No. The context window is the transient input a model sees per turn; memory is durable state the agent keeps across turns and sessions.

Why is memory a governance issue?

Because what an agent remembers about people and counterparties is data — subject to handling rules, retention limits, and the ability to be forgotten.