How Google Spent Two Years Watching ChatGPT Do the Homework
Google announced on August 13, 2025, that its Gemini AI is rolling out new features that allow the chatbot to remember past conversations and offer temporary chat sessions - features that will sound remarkably familiar to anyone who's used ChatGPT in the past year.
In what can only be described as the tech equivalent of showing up to a party wearing the exact same outfit as someone else, Google has introduced two features to Gemini that are essentially identical to OpenAI's ChatGPT: conversation memory and temporary chats.
They didn't even bother changing the names.
The "Innovation": Memory That Remembers You Exist
Gemini's new memory feature allows the AI to learn from past conversations over time, remembering key details and preferences users have shared to deliver more personalized responses.
This groundbreaking concept of... an AI remembering what you told it yesterday... is now available to Gemini users who enable the "Personal context" setting.
The feature works exactly like you'd expect if you've used ChatGPT's memory function.
For example, if you've previously discussed your favorite comic book characters, Gemini might suggest a birthday party theme based on that character when you ask for party ideas. Revolutionary stuff, truly.
Fun fact:
ChatGPT announced its memory feature back in April 2025, making Google's August rollout fashionably late by about four months. But hey, who's counting?
Temporary Chats: Google's "Incognito Mode" Revelation
The second major feature is Temporary Chats, which won't appear in your recent chats or Gemini Apps Activity and won't be used to personalize your experience or train Google's AI models.
These conversations are kept for up to 72 hours to respond to feedback, then disappear. If this sounds exactly like ChatGPT's temporary chat feature, that's because it is.
The feature operates similarly to incognito browsing in web browsers, which makes you wonder why it took Google this long to implement something their own Chrome browser pioneered over a decade ago.
Privacy Controls: The "We Promise This Time" Update
Google is also introducing new data management settings, renaming "Gemini Apps Activity" to "Keep Activity" and allowing users to control whether their uploads are used to improve Google services.
Starting September 2, 2025, a sample of chats and uploaded files could be used to train Google's AI models unless users explicitly opt out.
Nothing says "user privacy" quite like an opt-out system that defaults to data collection. At least they're being transparent about it - sort of.
The Competition Heats Up (Finally)
ChatGPT currently dominates the market with 59.8% market share and 400 million weekly users, while Gemini holds 13.5% with 42 million daily users.
These new features are Google's attempt to level the playing field against OpenAI's established features.
The rollout strategy is quintessentially Google: starting with select countries and the 2.5 Pro model, then expanding to 2.5 Flash and more regions in the coming weeks.
Because nothing says "competitive urgency" like a gradual global rollout.
What This Means for Users
Despite the obvious inspiration, these features do bring genuine value to Gemini users who've been waiting for basic functionality that ChatGPT users take for granted.
The memory setting is on by default but can be turned off at any time in the Personal context settings.
For users choosing between AI assistants, this update essentially removes ChatGPT's memory and privacy advantages, making the choice come down to other factors like integration with Google services, model performance, and pricing.
