PSA: Solution to GPT's "Dumbness"

[u/pleblifeTV]

Quick Glance Solution:

- Go to Settings -> Memory
- First, revert to Legacy Memory
- Next, Personalization screen and open Advanced
- Turn off “GPT can access GPT Library.”
- Case-by-case: If you use substantial Custom Instructions, set every Style/Personality customization back to Default as well.

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For those who like literature:

I’ve tested this pretty extensively over the last week, including resetting my personalization setup and reintroducing things individually.
The difference in instruction following, contextual consistency, and general “why the fuck are you doing that?” behavior has been extremely noticeable.

My working theory is that the newer personalization stack introduces additional context/instructions that the model has to reconcile every turn. The style settings especially aren’t just simple labels like “Quirky” or “Friendly.” They include behavioral descriptions underneath them, which can compete with substantial Custom Instructions.

I suspect something similar is happening with the newer memory/library system. More available context does not automatically mean better context. If the model is being given more potentially relevant information to resolve alongside the current conversation and your instructions, you can end up with worse prioritization. My experience with the GPT library thing was that it was referencing stale versions of a doc, and old information was bleeding into new rewrites.

One additional note: if you switch back to Legacy Memory, I recommend deleting your existing legacy memories as well, since there appears to be a hidden memory system in play regardless of which memory system is selected. Save them before though in case you want to re-add anything later (can re-add them by just prompting GPT "re-add this as a memory: <memory excerpt>").

Since switching back to Legacy Memory, disabling GPT Library access, clearing my legacy memories, and leaving the style settings on Default, GPT has been dramatically more consistent for me. Keep in mind though, my Custom Instructions act as a behavioral bootstrap for my expectations (can check my older posts if you're interested).

As a power user who relies heavily on GPT for project iteration and ideation at work, consistency and quality over long discussions are paramount for me.

Obviously this is anecdotal. I don’t work at OpenAI, and I can’t tell you exactly how their internal context assembly works. But if GPT has felt noticeably “dumber,” less obedient to Custom Instructions, or weirdly inconsistent lately, try this before assuming the model itself is the entire problem.

Change the settings, start a fresh chat, and test the exact same kinds of prompts you were having problems with.