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Glossary

Short-Term Memory (Agent)

Reviewed 9 April 2026 Canonical definition

Short-term memory in an AI agent is task-scoped storage that persists across the steps of a single execution but is discarded when the task ends. It allows agents to track intermediate results, tool outputs, and decision history within a workflow without permanently retaining that data. Governance controls on short-term memory typically focus on what can be logged and whether it is cleared at task completion.