I built an AI that generates daily briefings from emails, calendars, Notion, and social media.
It worked. It was fast. It was accurate.
But it had one fatal flaw:
It forgot everything.
Every session = reset.
Every user = stranger.
No memory. No context. No continuity.
Then I Fixed It
I discovered Backboard.io after an Auth0 Hackathon on Devpost, and later explored it deeper during MLH Global Hack Week: API Week 2026.
That’s when it clicked:
My AI didn’t need to be smarter. It needed memory.
What Changed Instantly
After adding memory:
- My AI remembers user preferences
- Conversations actually continue
- Outputs feel personal, not generic
It stopped feeling like a chatbot and started feeling like an assistant.
The Real Shift
Most AI apps today are stateless. That’s the problem.
| Without Memory | With Memory |
|---|---|
| You repeat yourself | Your AI learns |
| Context is lost | Your AI adapts |
| Personalization is fake | Your AI improves over time |
I break down exactly how I built it here:
👉 https://shakiran.hashnode.dev/how-backboard-io-added-memory-to-my-ai-agent
🙌 Shoutout
Huge shoutout to @MLH Global API Hack Week for the sessions and community that made it easier to explore and build with tools like this in real time.
Top comments (3)
This is awesome! thank so much for sharing your experience!
What was your "Aha" moment?
My "Aha" moment was and is the ability to switch between different models and still be able to use the same memory for my users. This means that if I use one model that charges highly for credits I can easily change to another without having to worry about my users loosing memory since they each have their own assistants with their own memory threads that are independent of the models. With also maintaining their preferences. This is a super power I didn't know I needed 😆
love to hear it!