Glossary
Memory
Stored context that can be retrieved and reused in later steps or sessions.
Reviewed as part of AI Agent Workflow Reliability Vocabulary, using the primary references listed below. Updated 2026-07-24.
Plain-English meaning
Memory is used here to describe stored context that can be retrieved and reused in later steps or sessions. In the daily board, the word is grouped by the role it performs rather than by spelling or market popularity.
You may encounter it in a product interface, technical document, risk report, policy paper, or market dashboard. The term is included for recognition and comparison, not as a product recommendation.
Important boundary
Memory is state and can be stale, incorrectly scoped, or influenced by untrusted content.
When this word appears in a report, identify the mechanism being described before treating the label as a conclusion. Similar terms can point to different causes, controls, or outcomes.
Why it belongs with Agent Loop Control
These words cover the loop an AI agent uses to plan, call tools, store context, and stay constrained.
When solving the puzzle, compare the job this term performs with nearby cards. A correct group usually shares a function, risk type, workflow, or market structure rather than simply sharing similar wording.
Where you might see it
You might encounter this term while reading educational explainers, product documentation, risk disclosures, market dashboards, or beginner guides. Always separate vocabulary learning from financial decision-making.
Reading cue
Reviewing an agent run that used the right tool in the wrong way
Use the full guide's applied scenario to ask where Memory enters the process, what evidence supports it, and which nearby concept it could be confused with.
Read the complete applied scenarioNearby concepts
Compare before you memorize
Planner
The component or process that decomposes a task and selects the next step.
A plan describes intended work; it does not authorize the tools needed to perform it.Tool calling
Structured selection and invocation of an external function, service, or workflow.
A syntactically valid tool call can still use unsafe permissions or incorrect arguments.Guardrail
A rule, validation step, or policy boundary intended to constrain system behavior.
One guardrail covers a specific failure mode and does not guarantee overall reliability.Human approval
A required person decision before a defined action boundary is crossed.
Review after execution is oversight evidence, not pre-action approval.Knowledge check
Check the distinction
Why is a successful tool response not enough to prove a correct run?
The workflow may have selected the wrong tool, used the wrong identity or arguments, exceeded permission scope, or accepted an untrusted result.
Source trail
References behind this explanation
These references support the surrounding guide and concept boundaries. Open the full source when you need the original technical or policy context.
Primary risk-management outcomes for governance, documentation, human oversight, measurement, and lifecycle monitoring.
OWASP Generative AI Security ProjectAgentic Threats NavigatorSecurity guidance organized around reasoning, memory, tools, identity, human oversight, and multi-agent interactions.