AI Chatbots Forget: Context Compaction Explained

AI tools, even chatbots like Claude.ai or ChatGPT, can forget parts of your conversation. This is due to something called context compaction. The author experienced this firsthand when Gemini's mobile app compacted a conversation, making earlier notes inaccessible. Even though the notes were visible by scrolling back, the AI no longer "knew" about them. This issue isn't just for developers; it affects anyone using AI tools. Understanding basic context management can help prevent this frustration. This highlights the importance of recording important information, a lesson that applies to both AI interactions and human teams.