AI memory retention — AI data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

54% want personal control of AI memory; only 15% prefer centralized organizational control. Another 14% reject retained memory entirely.

Social (.png) Vector (.svg)

Question

When AI tools remember things about your work, who should control that memory?

single select
Optional
v2026.1

Data

	Respondents	Percent
Just me	6,877	53.6%
My organization centrally	1,891	14.7%
I do not want AI to retain memory	1,821	14.2%
My team	1,420	11.1%
Not sure	816	6.4%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “AI memory retention”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-retain

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

{
  "question": "AI memory retention",
  "dataId": "AIRetain",
  "asked": "When AI tools remember things about your work, who should control that memory?",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-retain",
  "demographic": {
    "id": "all-respondents",
    "type": "all",
    "name": "All Respondents",
    "n": 12825,
    "share": null
  },
  "series": null,
  "columns": [
    {
      "key": "response",
      "header": "AI memory retention",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": false
    },
    {
      "key": "count",
      "header": "Respondents",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": true
    },
    {
      "key": "pct",
      "header": "Percent",
      "unit": "%",
      "numeric": true
    }
  ],
  "licence": {
    "name": "ODbL 1.0",
    "url": "https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/",
    "holder": "Stack Exchange Inc."
  },
  "source": "Stack Overflow Developer Survey",
  "data": [
    {
      "response": "Just me",
      "count": 6877,
      "pct": 0.536
    },
    {
      "response": "My organization centrally",
      "count": 1891,
      "pct": 0.147
    },
    {
      "response": "I do not want AI to retain memory",
      "count": 1821,
      "pct": 0.142
    },
    {
      "response": "My team",
      "count": 1420,
      "pct": 0.111
    },
    {
      "response": "Not sure",
      "count": 816,
      "pct": 0.064
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Just me | 6,877 | 53.6% |
| My organization centrally | 1,891 | 14.7% |
| I do not want AI to retain memory | 1,821 | 14.2% |
| My team | 1,420 | 11.1% |
| Not sure | 816 | 6.4% |

Spreadsheet

.csv is a plain text format which most spreadsheet software can open.