Context Windows in AI

Think of a context window like your AI's short-term memory
or working desk space.

Here's the analogy:

Imagine you're working at a desk.
You can only fit so many papers on that desk at once.
When it gets too full,
you have to remove some old papers to make room for new ones.
A context window works exactly the same way.

In AI terms:

Real numbers:

To put that in perspective:
200,000 tokens is like fitting an entire novel on that desk.
4,000 tokens is more like a few pages.

Context windows affect how people actually use AI every single day:

Content creators upload entire blog posts or
scripts into AI tools for editing
but if the context window is too small,
the AI only sees part of the document and
might give inconsistent feedback.

Developers paste thousands of lines of code for debugging.
A larger context window means
the AI can see the whole codebase and
catch bugs that span multiple files.

Researchers feed in complete research papers
or multiple documents.
With a 200K context window,
they can analyze several papers at once
instead of one at a time.

Customer service teams use AI that needs to
remember entire conversation histories.
Smaller windows mean the AI might miss
crucial details from earlier in the chat.

The bigger the context window,
the more "memory" the AI has to work with
which means better,
more coherent responses.

Now that you know about context windows,
here's how to use AI tools smarter:

1. Check the limits before big tasks
If you're pasting a 50-page document,
make sure your AI can actually handle it.
Otherwise, break it into chunks.

2. Put important info at the beginning AND end
AI pays more attention to what's at the start and end
of its context window.
Put key instructions or details
in both places for best results.

3. Start fresh when switching topics
Don't try to have a conversation about marketing strategy,
then coding,
then recipe ideas all in one chat.
The AI will carry baggage from earlier topics.
Start a new conversation.

4. Summarize long conversations
If you're deep into a discussion and
notice the AI forgetting things,
ask it to summarize what you've covered so far,
then continue with that summary fresh in its context.

5. Choose the right tool for the job
Need to analyze a whole book?
Use Claude or another large-context model.
Just asking quick questions?
A smaller window is fine and often faster/cheaper.

It’s like having a designer’s toolkit in your browser. Great for social media, product shots, or creative side projects.

Context windows are your AI's working memory
and size matters.

The bigger the context window,
the more your AI can "remember" and
work with at once.

Understanding this helps you know
when to start fresh conversations,
how much information to feed in at once, and
which AI tool to pick for different tasks.

Next time your AI seems confused or
forgets something important,
you'll know exactly what's happening
and how to fix it.