In this article, you will learn why a large context window is not the same thing as agent memory, and how techniques like retrieval, compression, and summarization fit together in an agent’s cognitive stack.
Topics we will cover include:
Why a context window behaves like a stateless scratchpad rather than persistent memory.
How retrieval-augmented generation, compression, and summarization each play a distinct role in managing what enters that scratchpad.
How agents can achieve genuine memory persistence by acting as a database administrator rather than as the database itself.
