In plain language
Short-term memory is what the model can see right now; long-term memory is notes it saves and looks up later.
Example
An assistant remembers a client’s preferred report format by saving it to a memory store and retrieving it in future conversations.
Related terms
Context Window · Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) · AI Agent · Vector Database
Common misconception
A model does not remember past conversations on its own; memory exists only when the application stores and supplies it.
Implementation guidance
Decide what is worth remembering, let users see and delete stored memories, keep sensitive data out, and expire stale information.