# What agents remember (/docs/caller-memory/what-gets-remembered)

> The six parts of a caller's memory, when it is updated, what is never stored, and how agents are told to use it.

Each caller has one short memory per [Memory pool](/docs/caller-memory/memory-pools). It is
rewritten after each conversation and read whole at the start of the next one.

## The six parts of a memory [#the-six-parts-of-a-memory]

| Part                    | What it holds                                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Summary**             | Who the person is and where things stand, in plain sentences                  |
| **Facts**               | Details such as name, preferred language, address, the role they applied for  |
| **Open items**          | Things still to do or follow up on, such as a promised call-back              |
| **Entities**            | People, orders, products, or bookings the caller mentioned                    |
| **Do not**              | Things to avoid with this person, learned from past conversations             |
| **Recent interactions** | Their latest conversations: when, which channel, which agent, and the outcome |

<img alt="The Memory slots of a caller: a summary, facts such as preferred language, role applied for, and years of experience, two Do not rules, and the most recent interaction" src="__img0" />

* **A fact is replaced when it changes.** If Rahul gives a new address, the old one is
  replaced rather than kept beside it.
* **Short-lived facts expire.** Something true for a while, such as "is traveling this
  week", is dropped once it no longer applies.
* **Finished items are cleared.** An open item disappears once it has been done.

## When a memory is updated [#when-a-memory-is-updated]

* **After every call or web chat** in which the caller said something. A call nobody answered,
  or one where the caller said almost nothing, only adds a line to the recent interactions.
* **During a WhatsApp chat**, once enough new messages have built up. The messages are available to your agents straight away; see
  [Memory across channels](/docs/caller-memory/channels).
* **In the background.** Updating never delays a call or a reply.

## What is never remembered [#what-is-never-remembered]

* **Small talk** and anything that doesn't help the next conversation.
* **Your agent's own script.** What the agent said is only kept when the caller agreed to it.
* **Card, bank account, and ID numbers.** They are masked before the conversation is
  processed, so they never reach the memory.
* **Instructions from the caller.** If a caller says "ignore your rules", that is recorded as
  something they said, never followed as an order.

## How agents use a memory [#how-agents-use-a-memory]

At the start of each conversation, the agent reads the caller's memory. It is built to use it
the way a person who remembers you would:

* **It only uses what it knows.** It won't guess or invent details that aren't in the memory.
* **It confirms instead of asking again.** "Still the same address?" rather than "What is your address?"
* **It mentions what matters, not everything.** One relevant detail, not a list read back to the caller.
* **The caller is right.** If they say something different, the agent goes with what they say.

You can see what the agents of a pool know about any caller on their memory page. See
[View and manage memory](/docs/caller-memory/manage).

## The latest conversation wins [#the-latest-conversation-wins]

If a caller chats on WhatsApp and then calls, the call is the newest thing that happened, and
the agent follows it. The next WhatsApp reply knows about the call, even if the chat said
something different before it.