Emerging

Recall attribution

When the system uses memory, it says which memory — turning surprise into confirmation.

MTicket #4821Dana Ortiz · Duplicate charge

Draft a reply to Dana about the double charge.

Milky Used 3 memories

Hi Dana,

Sorry about the double charge on 14 August. I've refunded the duplicate $1,240 to your card ending 4417, and it should reach you within 3–5 business days.

I'll keep updates to email rather than calling, so just reply here if anything looks off.

The Milky team

Logged with this draft: mem_4417c · mem_e2a9f · mem_91bd0

Memories behind this draft

Try it: Click a number to see which memory shaped that line and where it came from. Mark one “Not relevant” and the draft changes.

In the wild

How 2 products ship this pattern. Click a screenshot to enlarge it.

ChatGPT answer suggesting Mexico City, with a Sources sheet listing the memories used and a menu offering Relevant, Not relevant, Why this memory, and Make a correction. — ChatGPT memory sources
The answer lists which memories shaped it, and each one can be rated, explained or corrected from the same sheet.
Source: OpenAI Help Center ↗

Perplexity answer to What should my next book be? with steps expanded: Reviewing past queries · 8, listing earlier questions like I've already read stormlight archive and project hail mary, then web searches for fantasy and sci-fi books. — Perplexity
Before answering, the visible steps list 'Reviewing past queries · 8' and show the earlier questions it drew on, so the personalisation has a named source.
Source: Perplexity blog ↗

When to use

Assistants whose personalisation is otherwise indistinguishable from guessing.

Seen in

ChatGPT memory-updated notices, Claude project references, personalised recommendation reasons.

For engineers

Log the retrieved memory IDs with the response so the citation is real, not reconstructed.

Build prompt

A neutral, component-only prompt for a coding agent. Edit the stack block or anything else to fit your project, then copy it.

# Build the "Recall attribution" pattern: `MemoryAttribution`

## Stack (edit this block to match your project)
- React 18+ with TypeScript: one function component, typed props, no `any`.
- Tailwind CSS, using your design system's tokens if you have them.
- Presentational only: data comes in through props, decisions go out through callbacks. No fetching or global state inside.
- If your codebase already has conventions (naming, shared components, tokens), follow them over this spec.

## What the pattern is for
When the system uses memory, it says which memory — turning surprise into confirmation.

Use it when: Assistants whose personalisation is otherwise indistinguishable from guessing.

## What to build
Shows which memories an AI answer used: numbered markers in the text tie each personalised claim to a memory, and a list underneath names each memory's source with an excerpt. A person can confirm, mark a memory as not relevant, or forget it from the same place. It renders under or beside an AI message.

### Props
- `segments`: Array<{ text: string; memoryIds?: string[] }>, the answer split into spans; a span with `memoryIds` drew on those memories.
- `memories`: Array<{ id: string; title: string; source: { label: string; at: Date; savedBy?: string }; excerpt?: string; forgotten?: boolean }>, exactly the memories retrieved and logged with this response.
- `responseId`: string, shown with the logged memory ids so the record can be audited.
- `status`: "attributed" | "none" | "unavailable".
- `selectedId?`: string and `onSelect(id: string | null)`, controlled selection.
- `expanded?`: boolean and `onToggle(expanded: boolean)`, whether the memory list is open.
- `onMarkIrrelevant(memoryId)`, `onForget(memoryId)` and `onCorrect?(memoryId)`: callbacks. The component never edits memory itself.

### States it must render
- Collapsed: a chip in the message header, e.g. "Used 3 memories", and small numbered markers in the text.
- Expanded: the list of memories with title, source, date and who saved it, each with Not relevant and Forget.
- Memory selected: its spans are highlighted and its excerpt opens, showing where the fact came from.
- Marked not relevant: the row dims with "Won't be used for requests like this".
- None: "No memories used" stated explicitly, so personalisation is never implied. Unavailable: "Memory sources weren't logged for this answer"; nothing is reconstructed after the fact.

### Interactions
- Clicking a marker or a memory row selects it; clicking again clears the selection.
- The header chip toggles the list via `onToggle`.
- Not relevant, Forget and Correct call their callbacks; Forget asks for a one-step confirmation inline.

### Edge cases
- A memory that shaped the answer without a specific span (tone, sign-off style) is listed under "Also used".
- A memory forgotten after this answer: keep its title, drop the excerpt, and label it "Forgotten since".
- A memory saved by someone else in a shared workspace shows who saved it.
- Only memories present in `memories` can have markers; a `memoryIds` entry with no matching memory renders no marker and is ignored.

## Must avoid
Personalisation that feels like surveillance because the source is never named.

## Engineering constraint
Log the retrieved memory IDs with the response so the citation is real, not reconstructed.

## Accessibility
- Markers are buttons labelled like "Memory 2: prefers email over phone" with `aria-pressed`.
- The link between span and memory is shown with an underline or outline as well as colour.

## House rules
- Real `<button>`/`<input>` elements, full keyboard use, visible focus; announce status changes with `aria-live="polite"`; respect `prefers-reduced-motion`.
- All user-facing text comes from props (or a `labels` prop) so it can be translated.
- One consistent accent marks anything the AI made or is doing; amber means "needs a person", red means risky, green means done. Never rely on colour alone.
- Fits a 360 px wide container without horizontal scrolling.

## Acceptance checks
- [ ] Every state above can be rendered by passing props, with no internal fake data.
- [ ] Every interaction and edge case above behaves as described.
- [ ] Nothing in "Must avoid" can happen with this component.

## Deliver
1. The component file with its exported prop types.
2. A short usage example that renders each state.

Download this prompt as Markdown, or every prompt as JSON for an agent.

Critique checklist for memory & context

0 of 4 checked

These questions apply to every pattern in this family. Ticks are saved in this browser.

Can the user see everything currently in context?
Is memory scoped to a project rather than global by default?
Can the user delete a memory and see the effect?
Does the system say when it is relying on memory?