noun · AI concept
Conversation history
also called message historychat history
The chat log the app keeps and hands back to the AI every turn, because the AI itself remembers nothing.
The ordered list of previous messages that an application resends with each request so the model can continue a conversation.
A list of earlier user and assistant messages, plus tool calls and results, stored by the application. Each request includes it again, so the model can continue the thread, and the app can edit, trim or summarize it at any time.
Real-life example
You chat with an assistant for an hour, then ask "what did I say about the budget?". It answers correctly because the app sent the whole chat along with that question. Open a new chat, and the question has nothing to refer to. The history lived in the app, not in the model.
Where the analogy breaks
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The history belongs to the app, not the model. It can be edited, deleted or summarized without the model knowing anything changed.
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It grows with every turn. Each new request carries all of it, so long chats cost more and slow down.
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The model treats it as true. If the history is changed or wrong, the model builds on the changed version.