Does GPT-5 Get Tired? Handling AI Performance Decay

8/13/2025

Does GPT-5 Get Tired? How to Handle Performance Decay in Long Sessions

Ever been in a super long chat with an AI & it feels like it’s… well, losing its steam? You’re not alone. It's a common experience for those of us who use models like ChatGPT for heavy-duty tasks like coding or in-depth research. You start off strong, the AI is brilliant, & then, slowly but surely, the answers get a little weird, a little less sharp.

So, what’s the deal? Does the AI get tired? & more importantly, with all the hype around GPT-5, is it going to have the same problem? Let's get into it.

The Short Answer: No, But It's Complicated

AI, in the way we experience it with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, doesn't get "tired" in the human sense of the word. It doesn't have a body, it doesn’t need a nap, & it’s not feeling the burnout from your endless questions. But what you're seeing—that decline in performance—is a very real thing. It’s often called "performance decay" or "long-chat degradation."

Here’s the thing, while the AI isn't getting sleepy, the quality of its responses can definitely take a hit over a long conversation. It’s more like the AI is losing the plot of your conversation, & the longer you talk, the more it struggles to keep up.

So, What's Really Going On?

There are a few key technical reasons why your AI chat buddy might start to seem a bit off after a while. It all comes down to how these models are built & how they process information.

1. The Infamous Context Window

Imagine you’re having a conversation, but you can only remember the last few sentences that were said. That's kind of what the "context window" is for an LLM. It's the amount of information the model can "see" at any given moment. For GPT-4, this can be around 8,000 tokens (a token is a word or part of a word), though some newer models have much larger windows.

When your conversation gets longer than the context window, the AI starts to forget the beginning of your chat. It’s like the earliest parts of your conversation fall off a cliff. This is a HUGE reason why the AI might start to lose track of what you were talking about, leading to inconsistent or irrelevant answers.

2. Losing Focus & Getting Lost in the Middle

Even with a big context window, LLMs can have trouble paying attention to everything equally. Research has shown that these models are better at remembering information at the very beginning & the very end of a conversation. The stuff in the middle? That can get a bit hazy for the AI. It's like the AI is really good at first impressions & recent memories, but the middle of the story gets fuzzy.

This “lost in the middle” problem means that if you provided a critical piece of information early on, but not at the very beginning, the AI might forget it later on, leading to some pretty frustrating moments.

3. Cumulative Noise & Hallucinations

As a conversation goes on, small misunderstandings or inaccuracies can start to build up. The AI might make a small mistake, & then another, & another. Over time, these little errors can snowball, leading to a situation where the AI is operating on a faulty understanding of your conversation.

This is also where "hallucinations" can creep in. That's the fancy term for when an AI just makes stuff up. The longer the chat, the more likely it is that the AI might stray from the facts & start to generate information that sounds plausible but is completely wrong.

Will GPT-5 Be Any Different?

This is the million-dollar question, isn't it? While we don't have all the details about GPT-5 yet, the information that's been released suggests that OpenAI is very aware of these performance decay issues & is working to fix them.

Here's what we know so far about GPT-5 that could make a real difference:

A Unified & Smarter System: GPT-5 is being described as a "unified system" that can switch between different modes of thinking. It will have a "fast" mode for simple questions & a "deep reasoning" mode for more complex problems. This could mean that the AI will be better at allocating its resources, so it doesn't get bogged down in long, complex conversations.
BIG improvements in accuracy: OpenAI is claiming that GPT-5 will have a significant reduction in hallucinations & factual errors. The "thinking mode" is said to produce 80% fewer factual errors than GPT-4o. This is a massive deal, & it could go a long way in preventing the "cumulative noise" problem we talked about earlier.
Better Reasoning: GPT-5 is expected to have much-improved reasoning capabilities. This means it should be better at following complex instructions, understanding nuance, & solving multi-step problems. This could help it stay on track in long conversations & avoid getting sidetracked by irrelevant details.
Larger Context Windows (Probably): While not explicitly stated in all the initial announcements, it's a safe bet that GPT-5 will have a larger context window than its predecessors. The trend in the industry is towards ever-larger context windows, with some models already boasting windows of over a million tokens. A larger context window will mean the AI can "remember" more of your conversation, which is a direct solution to one of the biggest causes of performance decay.

So, will GPT-5 get "tired"? Probably not in the way we think of it, but the improvements in its architecture suggest that it will be MUCH better at handling long conversations without the same level of performance decay we see in current models. It's a big step in the right direction.

How to Deal with Performance Decay in a LONG AI Session (Like a Pro)

Even with the promise of GPT-5, it’s still important to know how to handle performance decay when you’re in a long session with any AI. Here are some practical tips that the pros use:

1. Be a "Context Manager"

This is probably the most important tip. Instead of just dumping a ton of information on the AI & hoping for the best, you need to be strategic about how you manage the context of your conversation.

Summarize, Summarize, Summarize: Every so often, ask the AI to summarize the key points of your conversation so far. This does a couple of things. First, it forces the AI to refresh its "memory" of what's important. Second, it gives you a condensed version of the context that you can use to start a new chat if you need to.
Break Down Big Tasks: If you have a complex project, don't try to do it all in one long chat. Break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks & start a new chat for each one. You can provide a brief summary of the overall project at the beginning of each new chat to give the AI the necessary context.
Create "Context Dump" Prompts: For recurring tasks, create a "context dump" prompt that you can paste into the beginning of a new chat. This prompt should include all the essential background information, instructions, & constraints for the task. This way, you're not starting from scratch every time.

2. Start Fresh When You Need To

Don't be afraid to start a new chat! Seriously, sometimes the best thing you can do when you feel the AI starting to slip is to just copy the important parts of your conversation, start a new chat, & paste them in. It’s like hitting the reset button & it can make a world of difference.

3. Talk to Your AI Like a Person (A Very Forgetful Person)

Remind the AI of Key Details: If you notice the AI starting to forget things, just remind it! You can say something like, "Remember, we're trying to achieve X," or "As I mentioned earlier, the key constraint is Y."
Be Explicit in Your Instructions: Don't assume the AI knows what you want. Be as clear & direct as possible in your prompts. If you want the AI to do something specific, tell it exactly what to do.

4. For Businesses: Build a Better System

If you're a business that relies on AI for things like customer service or lead generation, you can't afford to have your AI "get tired" on your customers. This is where a platform like Arsturn comes in.

Instead of relying on a general-purpose AI that can get bogged down in long conversations, Arsturn helps businesses create their own custom AI chatbots. Here’s why that’s a game-changer:

Trained on YOUR Data: With Arsturn, you can train your AI chatbot on your own data—your website content, your product documentation, your FAQs, etc. This means the AI has a deep & focused understanding of YOUR business. It's not going to get sidetracked by irrelevant information because it's only been taught what it needs to know to help your customers.
Instant, 24/7 Support: An Arsturn chatbot can provide instant answers to customer questions, 24/7. It doesn’t get tired, it doesn’t need a break, & it can handle an unlimited number of conversations at once. This is a HUGE advantage for businesses that want to provide top-notch customer support without hiring a massive team.
Boost Conversions & Generate Leads: Arsturn isn't just for customer support. You can use it to engage with website visitors, answer their questions about your products or services, & even capture leads. By providing a personalized & helpful experience, you can turn more of your website visitors into customers.
No-Code & Easy to Use: You don't need to be a coding expert to build a custom AI chatbot with Arsturn. Their no-code platform makes it easy for anyone to create, train, & deploy a chatbot in minutes.

So, if you're a business that's serious about using AI to improve your customer experience, a custom solution like Arsturn is the way to go. It’s the difference between having a general-purpose assistant who might get forgetful & having a dedicated expert who knows your business inside & out.

The Future is Bright (and Less Forgetful)

The problem of performance decay in long AI sessions is a real one, but it’s a problem that developers are actively working to solve. With the upcoming release of GPT-5 & its advanced reasoning & accuracy, we can expect to see a big improvement in the ability of AI to handle long, complex conversations.

In the meantime, by being a smart "context manager" & using the tips we've talked about, you can get the most out of your AI interactions, no matter how long they are. & for businesses, investing in a custom AI solution like Arsturn can help you bypass the limitations of general-purpose models & provide a truly exceptional customer experience.

Hope this was helpful! Let me know what you think.