When I built my own AI chat interface, the first problem showed up right away: context. How do you get the AI to remember the flow of a conversation without sending the entire history each time? At first, I just dumped the whole log into every API call. It worked, but it was slow, costly, and full of filler the AI didn’t really need.

That’s when I tried something easier: summaries. Every few messages, I’d jot down a short recap with only the key points. Something like: “User wants a logo under $1000. Prefers minimal style. Rejected 3D concepts.” Then I’d send that summary along with the latest few lines instead of the whole conversation. Suddenly, the chat felt smoother and lighter.

The difference was clear. The AI stayed on track, tokens were used more wisely, and my logs became easier to skim. It wasn’t about keeping every word-it was about keeping the important bits.

Here’s what helped me most:

• Summarize key points regularly.
• Send the summary plus recent turns.
• Skip filler like greetings or small talk.
• Keep updating the summary as things change.

Managing context this way saves cost, speeds things up, and gives your bot a cleaner memory. Good AI chats don’t need every word-just the ones that matter.