Cross-session memory
Cross-session memory lets the bot recognize returning visitors and reference what was discussed in earlier chats — not just earlier messages in the current one. A visitor who asked about a product last week can pick up where they left off.
Configure it in Dashboard → Settings, in the Cross-Session Memory section: "Enable AI memory to recognize returning visitors and reference past conversations."
🖼️ [Image] — The Cross-Session Memory section with the enable toggle, max memories, retention and auto-summarize controls.
Settings
| Control | Range | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Cross-Session Memory | on / off | off | Master switch for the feature. |
| Max Memories per Visitor | 1 – 50 | 10 | How many remembered summaries to keep per visitor. When full, the oldest is dropped. |
| Memory Retention (days) | 1 – 365 | 90 | How long a memory lives before it's automatically cleaned up. |
| Auto-Summarize Conversations | on / off | on | When on, "AI automatically generates summaries when conversations end" so they can be recalled later. |
What it does for returning visitors
When the same visitor returns, Promptly looks up their stored summaries and surfaces the most relevant ones to the bot before it answers — by topic similarity when there's a current question, or by recency otherwise. Each memory holds a short summary, the topics covered, and the overall sentiment. The bot uses these as context, so it can say "welcome back" with substance rather than starting cold.
What it needs
Cross-session memory is part of the Chat module, so it comes with every subscription — but it stays off until you switch it on. If the section shows a lock icon instead of the controls, the feature isn't enabled for your workspace: the panel reads "Cross-session memory isn't enabled for this workspace. Contact your administrator to turn it on." Auto-summarization is capped per day (30 conversations a day with a subscription), so a very busy day can leave some conversations unsummarized.
Privacy & isolation
Memories are stored per visitor and per account — they're never shared across tenants, and they expire on the retention schedule you set. See Data isolation & storage modes.
🎬 [Video] — A returning visitor being greeted with context from a previous session.