Caller memory
Caller memory is the ability to recognize a returning caller, usually by phone number, and carry context from previous conversations into the current one.
Also called: returning caller recognition, conversation memory
With memory, the receptionist can greet a caller by name, avoid re-asking what they said last week, and pick up an unfinished request. Without it, every call starts from zero.
Memory depends on identifying the caller. In practice that means the caller ID (ANI) passed by the carrier, matched against past calls or a CRM record. Where caller ID is withheld, spoofed or stripped by a phone system, the receptionist cannot safely know who is calling, and should not disclose prior interactions to an unverified number.
Memory across conversations is distinct from context within a conversation (turn-based context awareness): the same idea at two timescales.