Agent Memory·8 min read
Agent Memory, Explained Without the Jargon
Working memory, episodic memory, and semantic memory — how to choose what your agent actually needs.
Agent Memory, Explained
Memory is the difference between an agent that helps once and an agent that gets better the more you use it.
Three layers worth knowing
- Working memory — the current conversation context. Cheap, fast, forgotten.
- Episodic memory — specific past events ("on Tuesday the user asked X"). Useful for follow-ups.
- Semantic memory — distilled facts ("user prefers concise replies"). Useful forever.
Most teams over-engineer memory. Start with working + a single vector store for semantic. Add episodic only when a real task demands it.