Agentic AI Notebook
Agent Memory
Phase 5Module 5 of 15

Semantic Memory

Agents need 'user prefers Kanban' without replaying every chat that mentioned boards.

A wiki of facts, not a diary of every day you learned them.

Visual Workflows

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Overview

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Fact in, fact out

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Extract one claim. Embed it. Later retrieve it by meaning.

Key Takeaways

  • 1.Semantic memory stores facts and meanings, not a play-by-play of events. Typical shape: embeddings in a vector store, or a fact table.
  • 2.Retrieve by similarity: 'what do we know about this user / topic?'. Keep facts atomic so you can update one without rewriting a story.
  • 3.Semantic memory is knowledge: names, prefs, policies. Store small claims with embeddings or keys.
  • 4.Do not store a whole episode here — that is episodic.

Learn elsewhere

  • Episodic Memory
  • RAG embeddings — Phase 3

Real Example

Scenario

'Prefers Python' and 'team uses Jira' sit in semantic memory. The meeting where they said it sits in episodic memory.

What you would do

In Agent Memory, apply Semantic Memory to this scenario: 'Prefers Python' and 'team uses Jira' sit in semantic memory. Identify the inputs, run the technique, validate the output, and note one thing you would monitor in production.

Commands

Commands to Remember

  • Facts, not stories
  • Atomic claims
  • Retrieve by similarity
  • Update one fact at a time

Cheat Sheet

Quick recap

quick ref
  • Wiki, not diary
  • Embeddings or a fact table
  • Atomic updates
  • Different from episodes

Common Mistakes

  • Embedding entire transcripts as one 'fact'
  • Mixing events into the fact store
  • Never updating a fact when the user changes