Agent Memory Distillation (AMD), a training-free framework that transfers structured knowledge from a large teacher agent to a small student agent through hierarchical memory, is proposed, which consistently outperforms existing memory-based baselines.
Abstract
Memory systems have shown promise for improving agent performance, but their potential remains largely unexplored for small language models, which struggle to generate sufficient successful trajectories on their own. We propose Agent Memory Distillation (AMD), a training-free framework that transfers structured knowledge from a large teacher agent to a small student agent through hierarchical memory. AMD constructs three complementary memory types from successful teacher trajectories: Workflow memory encodes task-level strategies, Subtask memory provides concrete behavioral examples at an intermediate granularity, and Function memory captures per-function calling conventions and common pitfalls. Workflow and Subtask memories are injected proactively at the start of each task, while Function memory is retrieved reactively upon tool-calling errors. We evaluate AMD on three tool-use benchmarks using four student models (4B-8B parameters) with GPT-5-mini as the teacher, achieving average accuracy gains of 27.2%p, 11.2%p, and 3.4%p on AppWorld, BFCL V3, and ToolSandbox, while consistently outperforming existing memory-based baselines. Further analysis shows that Subtask memory contributes the largest gains, teacher effectiveness depends on both teacher capability and student compatibility, and 4B-sized students benefit most from AMD.
The results suggest that effective long-horizon agent memory depends less on storing more information than on deciding which information should remain active, and that effective long-horizon agent memory depends less on storing more information than on deciding which information should remain active.
This work presents Memory as a Controlled Process (MemCon), a framework that models memory operations as a Markov Decision Process and learns an online policy that adaptively decides when, what, and how much to retrieve, when to inject a distilled plan, and when to consolidate or forget.
Eric Jiang, Zhi Zhang, Yuchen Wu et al.· arXiv.org· 1 citation
Existing self-evolving memory systems mainly improve agent memory based on textual outputs, such as task trajectories and reflections. However, this text-based paradigm rarely incorporates internal mechanistic signals, leaving how retrieved memory is actually utilized during task execution underexplored. This limitation can lead to unreliable error attribution and hallucinated memory modifications. In this work, we show that retrieval-head attention provides a mechanistic signal for revealing segment-level memory utilization. By aggregating attention over memory segments and decision steps, we construct a context utilization matrix that exposes recurring memory-use patterns and indicates corresponding refinement strategies. Building on this observation, we propose Attention-Guided Memory Refinement (AGMR), a framework that uses utilization patterns revealed by attention to guide targeted segment-level memory updates. AGMR corrects or enhances memory for failed executions, simplifies memory for successful executions, and verifies each update through re-execution. Experiments on interactive decision-making benchmarks show that AGMR improves both task performance and memory efficiency over text-only memory refinement baselines. Code is available at https://anonymous.4open.science/r/AGMR_code-3262/
Yechao Hong, Haiquan Qiu, Yaqing Wang et al.· arXiv.org· 0 citations
Supra Cognitive Modes (SCM), an architecture that maps explicit or automatically selected per-query modes to retrieval and synthesis payloads over one shared ingest substrate, is described, an architecture that maps explicit or automatically selected per- queries to retrieval and synthesis payloads over one shared ingest substrate.
Low-friction, expressive membrane prevents harness failures from becoming model failures and pushes measurement toward the model's true maximal underlying capability, on Factorio, where refinement allows for continuous technology progression and dedicated subagents enable parallelized work.
Seth Karten, Alex L. Zhang, Kevin Thomas et al.· 2 citations· ⚡1
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
