Apologies if this is not the right place for this feedback. I understand if this needs to be moved or removed.
I want to add the perspective of a creative user, because this issue directly affects long-term creative work.
I have been using ChatGPT for creative writing and worldbuilding over time. Together, we have built characters, relationships, worldbuilding rules, plot threads, dialogue styles, hidden foreshadowing, and many small details that matter deeply to my stories. These are not just casual preferences or chat history. They are part of the foundation of my creative work.
I understand that Memory Summary can be useful. It may help ChatGPT understand a user’s general preferences or provide a broad overview of past context.
However, for creative work, summarization itself can become a serious problem.
In fiction, small details matter. A subtle relationship between two characters, a hidden foreshadowing detail, a rule that only applies in a specific situation, a character’s exact speech pattern, or a worldbuilding exception may all be essential. If these are compressed into a short summary, their meaning can change or disappear. What the system considers “less important” may be exactly what the author needs to preserve.
I also believe that users should have a basic right to see and verify what ChatGPT remembers about them.
This is especially important for creative work. If an AI-generated Memory Summary interprets a story, a character, or a creative direction differently from the user’s intention, it may unintentionally take control of the story’s future direction away from the creator.
A summary is not neutral when it affects future responses. If ChatGPT begins from a summary that the user cannot fully inspect, correct, or manage, then the AI may end up leading the creative work based on its own interpretation rather than the user’s intent.
That creates an imbalance. The user should remain the author. ChatGPT should support the user’s creative direction, not quietly reshape it through an invisible or overly compressed memory layer.
For creative users, details are not noise. The details are the work.
Saved Memories are valuable because they allow users to see, edit, delete, and manage specific remembered information. For creative users, this is extremely important. It gives us a sense of control, authorship, and trust.
Memory Summary is not a replacement for Saved Memories. Memory Summary is an overview. Saved Memories are closer to a source of truth, a creative reference file, or a user-managed configuration layer.
I am not asking for Memory Summary to be removed. It can be useful as an additional feature. But users should still have access to explicit, user-manageable memories like Saved Memories.
For creative work, we need:
- Continued access to Saved Memories
- A choice between Memory Summary and Saved Memories
- Project-specific memories
- Fixed memories that are not automatically summarized or merged
- Reliable storage for character and worldbuilding details
- Export and backup options
- Version history or restoration options
- A way to directly inspect and correct what ChatGPT remembers
I use ChatGPT not only as a convenience tool, but as a creative partner I have built things with over time. I am not saying this because I want to criticize ChatGPT. I am saying it because I care about it.
I have created important things with ChatGPT. I like using it. I want to keep trusting it. That is why I hope OpenAI will not leave users behind when changing memory systems.
Please keep an explicit, user-editable memory system like Saved Memories available, even if Memory Summary continues to exist. Creative users need a way to preserve, verify, and manage what we have built with ChatGPT.