Anthropic Makes Claude Memory Free to Win Over ChatGPT Users

The OpenAI-Pentagon deal has put a spotlight on responsible AI, and Anthropic is taking advantage of the moment. After refusing to let the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) use Claude for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, the company was blacklisted and flagged as a supply-chain risk.

Meanwhile, OpenAI, which is facing heat from the public, has promised to amend the Pentagon deal to add ethical guardrails. However, if you are one of those furious about OpenAI’s decision and want to switch from ChatGPT to other alternatives, Claude has offered just another reason to do so.

Claude’s memory import feature is now available for free users

Anthropic has announced that its memory import tool is also available to free Claude users. That’s a solid move from the company to lure ChatGPT and Gemini users. For those wondering what the new feature is all about, it ensures conversations and preferences from other AI platforms can be transferred into Claude. That way, newcomers won’t have to start from scratch.

You can export your data from other AI services using a prompt that Anthropic prepared. For example, ChatGPT users can request a summary of all stored memories and context in a single block, making it easy to copy into Claude. Once imported through the Memory section in Claude’s settings, the information is added to the AI’s memory.

Memory has been available for Claude’s paid plans since October 2025, but free users had no access. With the new feature, free users can now carry over their AI instructions, preferences, and conversation history without signing up for a paid plan.

Anthropic’s risky yet ethical stance now appears to be paying off

Anthropic’s latest move and its ethical stance in the whole Pentagon deal saga seem to be working positively. Claude has surged to the top of the App Store’s free iOS rankings, overtaking ChatGPT. Last month, the company also promised that Claude will be ad-free, while its rival ChatGPT is already testing ads for users subscribed to the Free and Go plans in the U.S. Not to forget, Anthropic also took a jab at OpenAI’s ad move, which Sam Altman rubbished, saying the ad campaign was “dishonest.”