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AI / ML
Context Window
The maximum amount of text an LLM can consider at once when generating a response. GPT-4o: 128K tokens (~96K words). Claude: 200K tokens (~150K words). Larger context windows mean agents can evaluate more products simultaneously in a single query. When a user asks 'compare the top 5 protein powders,' the agent needs enough context window to hold all 5 product descriptions, reviews, and specifications at once.
Why it matters
It is the hard limit on how much an agent can consider at once, and exceeding it does not error, it silently drops the oldest material.
In practice
If an agent stops honouring a constraint you set earlier, suspect the window before the reasoning.
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