Google has introduced an update to its AI chatbot Gemini that allows it to remember past conversations and personal details of users.
The new feature, which is automatically enabled, is aimed at making conversations feel more personalised.
The artificial intelligence will now recall a user’s favourite hobbies, creative projects or personal preferences – similar to some of its rivals.
This new ‘Personalised Context’ setting is on by default, however users are able to manually switch it off through the Gemini app.
“We’re introducing a new setting that allows Gemini to learn from your past conversations over time,” Michael Siliski, a senior director at Gemini, wrote in a blog post announcing the new update.
“When this setting is on, Gemini remembers key details and preferences you've shared, leading to more natural and relevant conversations, as if you're collaborating with a partner who's already up to speed.”
Another new feature is aimed at more privacy-conscious users, allowing single-use conversations that do not store any information.
Similar to Google’s incognito mode in the Chrome web browser, the conversations in ‘Temporary Chats’ do not show up in a user’s chat history and are not saved to Gemini Apps Activity.
Any interactions with Gemini that are made through Temporary Chats, which can be enabled via a new button next to ‘New Chat’ in the side menu, will only be saved for up to 72 hours in order to process optional feedback.
Both Temporary Chats and Personalised Context are available though an update that is rolling out to users of Gemini 2.5 Pro in selected countries before becoming more broadly available.
A similar feature was introduced to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in April, which some have linked to an increase in “delusional” chats from the AI.
OpenAI has said it is working with experts to introduced more safety measures and add additional mental health guardrails for vulnerable users.
