🌱 How ChatGPT handles long notes

I asked ChatGPT in mid June 2025** whether there are any performance issues with keeping conversations going for a long time.

** I am now (in November 2025) more aware of the inaccuracies that tend to arise when ChatGPT is asked about itself. I am not, therefore, entirely confident that the below notes were accurate. But I feel the main points still stand.

1. How ChatGPT Handles Context

ChatGPT maintains a memory of the current conversation within a limited context window — currently around 128,000 tokens in GPT-4-turbo, which is quite large (equivalent to roughly 300 pages of text). However:

• Only the most recent portion of the chat (within the token limit) is visible to the model when generating responses.
• Older parts of a very long chat are gradually truncated or summarised internally, which can lead to loss of nuance or context.
• The system does not “learn” from the conversation unless memory is explicitly enabled and structured accordingly (in non-temporary chats).

2. What Happens in Very Long Conversations

In a daily coaching context, if you use the same thread for weeks or months:

• The system may start to lose track of earlier goals, themes, or decisions unless they are constantly restated.
• There is a risk of redundancy – older insights may be lost or repeated.
• The model might become inconsistent, especially if conflicting themes have been introduced and then forgotten or misremembered.
• Response quality might subtly degrade as the internal summarisation process omits relevant detail.

3. Best Practice for Long-Term Use

To maintain clarity and effectiveness, consider a hybrid strategy:

a. Structured Threads

• Use separate threads for different types of coaching goals (e.g. productivity, spiritual life, career).
• You can use a numbering system or a date-based naming convention to track them.

b. Periodic Reset

• Every few weeks, summarise the key insights or milestones from the current thread and then start a new one with a clear handover note.
• Example: “This new thread continues from [date]. Main themes: X, Y, Z. Current objective: ...”

c. Use an External Journal or Tracker

• Maintain a coaching log in a separate document (e.g. Notion, Word, Excel) where you summarise each day or week’s interaction.
• This helps you retain long-term memory and avoids relying on the chat history for everything.

d. Consider Enabling Memory (If Available)

• If using a version of ChatGPT that supports persistent memory (currently being rolled out gradually), you can manually curate what the assistant should remember – such as goals, challenges, preferences, etc.
• This is ideal for coaching, but you must review and manage what is stored.

Summary

Yes, long chats can become less effective as older content is lost from the active context. For ongoing coaching, it is wise to periodically start new threads, structure your use intentionally, and externalise long-term memory. This improves precision, avoids drift, and helps you maintain a high level of continuity and focus.