Introduction

Most AI-powered customer support chatbots struggle to remember conversations across sessions, forcing users to repeat themselves and driving up support costs, often $15–25 per ticket. This results in repeated context, up to 40% higher token usage, three times more messages needed to resolve an issue, and overall frustration for users. Continuity is key: without memory, customer experiences are less efficient and satisfaction drops.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a customer support AI agent with persistent conversation memory, powered by DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI and the Memori SDK. By remembering context across days or weeks, your agent reduces token costs by 40–60% and resolves issues in half the number of messages. We’ll show you how to deploy this memory-powered agent using FastAPI, PostgreSQL, and an embeddable JavaScript widget, making integration into your stack seamless.

The whole process takes about 25–30 minutes, is suitable for intermediate users, and runs around $10–20 per month. You can find the full source code on GitHub.

Key Takeaways

Before diving into the implementation, here’s what you’ll learn:

• Conversation memory reduces token costs by 40-60% by compressing conversation history into summaries instead of sending full message exchanges.
• Persistent memory improves customer support AI performance by 40% satisfaction increase and 50% faster resolution time through contextual awareness.
• Multi-tenant architecture enables per-domain isolation for privacy and GDPR compliance, making this suitable for SaaS deployments.
• DigitalOcean Gradient AI provides the infrastructure for deploying AI agents with conversation memory, while Memori SDK handles intelligent memory compression.
• Production-ready stack combines FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Docker, and an embeddable JavaScript widget for easy integration.
• Cross-session conversation memory allows customer support AI agents to remember conversations across days or weeks, eliminating the need for users to repeat context.

What You’ll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a complete AI customer support system with:

1. FastAPI Backend - REST API with PostgreSQL database for multi-tenant support
2. AI Agents on DigitalOcean - Deployed Gradient AI agents using the Gradient™ AI Platform (Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct model)
3. Persistent Memory - Memori SDK integration that remembers conversations across sessions
4. Embeddable Widget - JavaScript widget you can add to any website with one line of code
5. Optional Knowledge Base - Upload PDFs, documents, and URLs for domain-specific answers

Architecture: A multi-tenant SaaS-ready system with per-domain isolation, ensuring privacy and GDPR compliance.

Demo Video: See the AI Agent Memory in Action

Here’s a quick demo of the customer support AI agent with persistent memory. Watch the video below to see how it remembers user conversations across sessions and resolves support requests efficiently:

Tip: If the preview above doesn’t load, click here to watch the demo on Google Drive.

Prerequisites

Required:

• DigitalOcean account with Gradient AI access. If you’re new to Gradient, see our Getting Started with the Gradient Platform tutorial
• DigitalOcean API Token (get here) - format: dop_v1_...
• DigitalOcean Project ID - format: aaaaaaaa-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx, can be found in the DigitalOcean Cloud Panel URL (find here)
• GibsonAI/Memori API Key (get here) - format: mk_..., required for authentication and provides intelligent memory compression (40-60% token savings)
• Docker & Docker Compose v2.0+
• Git

Optional:

• PostgreSQL client (psql, pgAdmin, DBeaver)
• Domain name (localhost works for testing)

Why Memory Matters: The Numbers

Token Cost Savings

With typical pricing of $0.002 per 1K tokens, memory reduces costs by 40-60%:

User Base	Annual Cost Without Memory	Annual Cost With Memory	Annual Savings
10K users	$1,920	$1,152	$768
50K users	$9,600	$5,760	$3,840
100K users	$19,200	$11,520	$7,680
1M users	$192,000	$115,200	$76,800

Assumptions: 2 conversations/user/month, 10 message pairs per conversation.

Key Performance Metrics

Metric	Without Memory	With Memory	Improvement
Messages to Resolution	12-15	5-7	50% fewer
Customer Satisfaction	3.2/5.0	4.5/5.0	+40%
Human Escalation Rate	25%	10%	60% reduction
First Contact Resolution	42%	68%	+62%

Quick ROI Example

For a 50K user deployment:

• Token savings: ~$4K/year
• Escalation reduction: ~$2.7M/year
• Retention improvement: ~$750K/year
• Break-even: Within first month

When to Use Memory-Powered Agents

Good Use Cases for Memory-Powered Agents:

• Customer service spanning days/weeks
• Long-term relationships (banking, healthcare, education)
• Personalization drives value (recommendations, upsells)
• Users expect recognition (retail, hospitality)

Avoid These Use Cases:

• Privacy-sensitive scenarios (anonymous hotlines)
• Short-lived, one-time interactions (FAQ lookups)
• Regulatory constraints prevent data retention
• Memory doesn’t add value (static information queries)

Architecture Overview

To understand how the customer support AI agent system functions, it’s helpful to first get a high-level picture of its architecture and the main technologies used.

Core Stack: The solution is built with several key components:

• FastAPI powers the backend REST API, enabling fast and flexible server-side development.
• PostgreSQL is the system’s primary relational database, storing user, domain, and memory data.
• DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI Platform provides scalable, cloud-based AI agent deployment and inference capabilities.
• Memori SDK is used to efficiently compress and retrieve conversation memory, dramatically reducing token (and cost) consumption compared to sending full conversation histories.

How Data Flows: When an end user interacts with your website, their messages pass through several layers:

1. User inputs a message in the widget embedded on your site.
2. The Widget serves as a bridge, sending data securely to your backend server.
3. The Backend (FastAPI) retrieves any relevant conversation memory (via the Memori SDK) and queries the knowledge base to add extra context if needed.
4. The request is sent to the AI agent (running on DigitalOcean Gradient AI), which generates a response based on both the live input and retrieved memory/context.
5. The Backend stores the new memory and delivers the response back through the widget, presenting it to the user.

Per-Domain Isolation: To ensure strong privacy and compliance (such as GDPR), each customer domain (company, organization, or project) is given an isolated memory space. This means conversation histories and knowledge bases are never shared between tenants, so users only receive responses based on their own organization’s data and previous conversations.

This architecture supports strong security, efficient cost management, and easy scalability as your user base grows.

How Memory Works

Key Benefit: Instead of sending entire conversation history (expensive), Memori sends compressed summaries (cheap). For example: “User Alice, order #12345, inquired about delivery” instead of 20 message exchanges. This conversation memory approach is what makes customer support AI agents cost-effective at scale.

Step 1: Clone the Repository and Set Up Your Local Environment

To begin, you’ll need a local copy of the project and a configuration file for your environment variables.

Clone the repository: This downloads the full project code to your local machine.

git clone https://github.com/Boburmirzo/customer-support-agent-memory.git
cd customer-support-agent-memory

Create your environment config: Copy the sample environment file to .env. This file holds sensitive details like your API keys and database credentials, which you’ll customize in the next step.

cp .env.example .env

Now you’re ready to configure your credentials and continue with the setup.

Configure Environment Variables

Edit .env with your credentials:

# DigitalOcean Configuration
DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN=dop_v1_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE
DIGITALOCEAN_PROJECT_ID=YOUR_PROJECT_UUID_HERE

# AI Model Configuration
DIGITALOCEAN_AI_MODEL_ID=88515689-75c6-11ef-bf8f-4e013e2ddde4  # Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct
DIGITALOCEAN_EMBEDDING_MODEL_ID=22653204-79ed-11ef-bf8f-4e013e2ddde4  # text-embedding-3-small
DIGITALOCEAN_REGION=tor1

# GibsonAI/Memori Configuration
MEMORI_API_KEY=mk_YOUR_GIBSONAI_API_KEY_HERE

# Database Configuration (defaults work for Docker Compose)
POSTGRES_HOST=localhost
POSTGRES_PORT=5432
POSTGRES_DB=customer_support
POSTGRES_USER=do_user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=do_user_password
DATABASE_URL=postgresql+psycopg://do_user:do_user_password@localhost:5432/customer_support

Important: The MEMORI_API_KEY configured above will be used for authentication when registering your domain in Step 3.

Step 2: Start Services with Docker Compose

This tutorial uses Docker Compose to orchestrate the FastAPI backend and PostgreSQL database services.

docker-compose up -d --build

Wait 30 seconds for containers to initialize, then verify:

# Check services are running
docker-compose ps

# Expected output (container names and status):
# NAME                  COMMAND              STATE         PORTS
# customer_support_api  "uvicorn ..."        Up            0.0.0.0:8000->8000/tcp
# customer_support_db   "docker-entrypoint"  Up (healthy)  0.0.0.0:5432->5432/tcp

# Test API health
curl http://localhost:8000/health | jq

Both containers should show Up status. API documentation is available at http://localhost:8000/docs

# Check logs if something fails
docker-compose logs --tail=50 api
docker-compose logs --tail=50 postgres

# Common issues:
# - Missing .env variables
# - Port 8000 or 5432 already in use
# - Database not ready: wait longer and retry

Understanding the Multi-Tenant Architecture

Before registering your domain, it’s important to understand how the three key components work together:

The Three Services

Architecture Diagram Explanation:

• Top Layer: External services (GibsonAI for authentication, DigitalOcean for AI processing)
• Bottom Layer: Your local PostgreSQL database storing domain configurations and agent metadata
• Connections: API Key Validation (GibsonAI ↔ PostgreSQL) and Agent Creation (DigitalOcean ↔ PostgreSQL)

What Each Component Does

GibsonAI API Key (mk_...)

• Authentication service that validates you’re a legitimate user
• Required in the Authorization: Bearer header
• Get yours at memoriapp.gibsonai.com

DigitalOcean Gradient AI Agent (agent_uuid)

• The actual AI that processes conversations
• Uses the model specified in your .env (e.g., Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct)
• Deployed on DigitalOcean cloud infrastructure using the Gradient Platform
• Can have knowledge bases attached. For document analysis use cases, see building an AI agent for document analysis

Domain Registration (Local PostgreSQL)

• Creates a mapping in your local database
• Links: Domain Name → GibsonAI Key → DO Agent
• Enables multi-tenant SaaS architecture (each customer has isolated agents)

Database Tables Created

Table	Purpose
registered_domains	Maps domain names to GibsonAI API keys
agents	Stores DigitalOcean agent details (UUID, URL, access keys)
knowledge_bases	Tracks uploaded documents and their vector embeddings
user_sessions	Manages active user chat sessions
conversation_history	Stores all messages for memory retrieval

Step 3: Register Your Domain

Important: Use your GibsonAI API key from the .env file configured in Step 1.

# Option 1: Extract the key from your .env file (recommended)
export MEMORI_KEY=$(grep MEMORI_API_KEY .env | cut -d '=' -f2)
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/register-domain \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MEMORI_KEY" \
-d '{"domain_name": "example.com"}' | jq

# Option 2: Use your key directly (replace mk_... with your actual key)
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/register-domain \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer mk_your_actual_key_here" \
-d '{"domain_name": "example.com"}' | jq

Expected response:

{
"message": "Domain registered successfully",
"domain_id": "1c6b2b83-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"agent_created": true,
"agent_uuid": "13129dad-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"agent_deployment_status": "STATUS_WAITING_FOR_DEPLOYMENT",
"deployment_message": "Agent created successfully. Deployment will complete in 1-2 minutes and you can start using it."
}

Important: Save the domain_id as you’ll need it for all subsequent API requests.

export DOMAIN_ID="1c6b2b83-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"  # Use your actual domain_id

This ID is used in the X-Domain-ID header for session and chat endpoints.

Wait 60-120 seconds for the agent to deploy, then check status:

curl -X GET "http://localhost:8000/agents" | jq

Expected response when ready:

{
"agents": [
{
"website_key": "c984d06a********",
"agent_uuid": "13129dad-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"website_url": "https://example.com",
"agent_url": "https://yurhuqh*********.agents.do-ai.run",
"has_access_key": true,
"created_at": "2025-11-17T14:09:50.939987",
"knowledge_base_uuids": ["1001f07b-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"]
}
],
"total": 1
}

Look for "has_access_key": true and a valid agent_url to confirm the agent is ready.

Step 4: Test the Chat API

Within-Session Memory Test

In this test, we’ll simulate a customer service interaction to demonstrate within-session memory:

1. First message: Alice introduces herself and mentions order #12345
2. Follow-up: Alice asks “When will it arrive?” without repeating her name or order number
3. Expected result: AI remembers context from the first message and responds appropriately

Create a session and test the memory-powered chat:

# Create session (uses DOMAIN_ID from Step 3)
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/session \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d '{
"user_id": "user_alice_123"
}' | jq

Expected response:

{
"session_id": "87d12af1-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"user_id": "user_alice_123",
"created_at": "2025-11-17T15:16:45.689949",
"website_url": null
}

Save the session_id:

export SESSION_ID="87d12af1-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"  # Use your actual session_id

Send a message (note: include user_id to enable memory):

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/ask \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d "{
\"session_id\": \"$SESSION_ID\",
\"user_id\": \"user_alice_123\",
\"question\": \"Hi, my name is Alice and I need help with order #12345\"
}" | jq

Expected response (may take 8-12 seconds due to AI model inference):

{
"answer": "Hello Alice, it's nice to formally meet you. I can see that you're inquiring about order #12345. I'd be happy to assist you with that. Can you please tell me a bit more about what's going on with your order? Is there something specific you'd like to know or a problem you're experiencing?",
"sources": [],
"session_id": "87d12af1-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

Send a follow-up to test memory:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/ask \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d "{
\"session_id\": \"$SESSION_ID\",
\"user_id\": \"user_alice_123\",
\"question\": \"When will it arrive?\"
}" | jq

Expected response:

{
"answer": "I understand you're looking for an update on your order #12345. As I mentioned earlier, I don't have the exact delivery date available. I recommend checking the order confirmation email or your account on the retailer's website for the latest shipping updates. This should give you a more accurate estimate of when you can expect your order to arrive. If you need further assistance or have any other questions, feel free to ask!",
"sources": [],
"session_id": "87d12af1-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

Notice the AI remembered Alice’s name and order number (#12345) from the previous message without repeating the context. The response time (8-12 seconds) is due to DigitalOcean Gradient AI model inference.

Step 5: Test Cross-Session Memory

This test demonstrates the core value of persistent memory. When users return hours or days later, the AI remembers their previous conversations, no need to repeat context!

Testing Scenario

Simulating a returning customer (same user, different session):

1. Create new session for Alice (same user_id)
2. Ask about order without providing any context
3. Expected result: AI remembers order #12345 from the previous session and responds with context

Create a new session for the same user to simulate them returning later:

# Same user_id, new session (uses DOMAIN_ID from Step 3)
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/session \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d '{
"user_id": "user_alice_123"
}' | jq

Expected response:

{
"session_id": "4820e62c-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"user_id": "user_alice_123",
"created_at": "2025-11-17T15:37:05.540265",
"website_url": null
}

Save the new session ID:

export SESSION_ID_NEW="4820e62c-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"  # Use your actual session_id

User returns later and asks without repeating context (same user_id enables cross-session memory):

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/ask \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d "{
\"session_id\": \"$SESSION_ID_NEW\",
\"user_id\": \"user_alice_123\",
\"question\": \"Has my order arrived yet?\"
}" | jq

Expected response (may take 10-15 seconds):

{
"answer": "I'd be happy to help you with your order status. Since you had previously ordered #12345, I recommend checking your email for updates on the delivery status. Sometimes, updates are sent directly to your inbox. If you're unable to find any information in your email, you can also check the order tracking information on our website. Would you like me to guide you on how to do that?",
"sources": [],
"session_id": "4820e62c-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

The AI remembered the order number (#12345) from the previous session without the user repeating anything. This cross-session memory is the core value, users feel recognized and valued, and you save tokens by not repeating context.

This cross-session memory is the core value, users feel recognized and valued, and you save tokens by not repeating context.

Add the widget to any website. Choose one of these methods:

Method 1: Simple One-Line Integration (Recommended)

<!-- Just add this single script tag -->
<script
src="http://localhost:8000/static/widget.js"
data-domain-id="YOUR_DOMAIN_ID_HERE"
></script>

The widget automatically uses the script’s origin as the API URL.

Method 2: JavaScript Initialization (More Control)

<script src="http://localhost:8000/static/widget.js"></script>
<script>
CustomerSupportWidget.init({
apiUrl: 'http://localhost:8000',
domainId: 'YOUR_DOMAIN_ID_HERE', // From Step 3
position: 'bottom-right',
primaryColor: '#0066cc',
welcomeMessage: 'Hi! How can I help you today?',
});
</script>

Option	Type	Default	Description
apiUrl	string	required	Your backend API URL
domainId	string	required	Domain ID from Step 3 (UUID format)
position	string	'bottom-right'	Widget position: 'bottom-right', 'bottom-left'
primaryColor	string	'#007bff'	Brand color for buttons and header
welcomeMessage	string	'Hi! How can I help you today?'	Initial greeting message
placeholder	string	'Type your message...'	Input field placeholder
widgetTitle	string	'Customer Support'	Widget header title
autoScrape	boolean	true	Automatically scrape website for knowledge

Example with full customization:

<script>
CustomerSupportWidget.init({
apiUrl: 'https://your-api.com',
domainId: '1c6b2b83-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx', // Your domain ID from Step 3
position: 'bottom-left',
primaryColor: '#FF5722',
welcomeMessage: 'Welcome back! How can we help today?',
placeholder: 'Ask me anything...',
widgetTitle: 'Customer Support',
autoScrape: false,
});
</script>

Test the Widget

Visit the demo page to see the widget in action:

Product Demo: http://localhost:8000/static/product_demo.html

The widget automatically handles:

• Session management (persisted in localStorage)
• Conversation memory across page reloads
• Persistent memory for returning users (via user_id)
• Responsive design for mobile and desktop

Step 7: Upload Knowledge Base (Optional)

When to Use This:

• You have product documentation, FAQs, or policy documents
• You want the AI to answer questions about specific company information
• You need grounded, accurate responses based on your documentation

Enhance your agent with domain-specific knowledge.

Option A: Upload a File (PDF, TXT, MD, JSON, CSV)

# Upload a file (e.g., product manual, FAQ, policy document)
# Uses DOMAIN_ID from Step 3
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/knowledge/upload/file \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-F "file=@/path/to/your/document.pdf" | jq

# Expected response:
{
"message": "File uploaded successfully",
"filename": "product-manual.pdf",
"file_type": "pdf",
"chunks_created": 47,
"kb_uuid": "1001f07b-c3bf-11f0-b074-4e013e2ddde4"
}

Option B: Upload Plain Text Content

# Upload text content directly
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/knowledge/upload/text \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d '{
"text": "Your FAQ or support content here...",
"title": "Support FAQ"
}' | jq

Option C: Upload from URL

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/knowledge/upload/url \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d '{
"url": "https://example.com/help/shipping-policy"
}' | jq

Check Supported File Types

curl -X GET http://localhost:8000/knowledge/supported-types | jq

Verify Knowledge Base

curl -X GET http://localhost:8000/knowledge-bases | jq

Beyond Customer Support

This agent + memory architecture works for any consumer-facing scenario requiring continuity and personalization:

• Healthcare: Virtual assistants tracking patient symptoms over time (70% reduction in redundant questions)
• Finance: AI advisors remembering financial goals and providing proactive guidance (50% increase in product adoption)
• E-Learning: Tutors adapting to student struggles (40% better completion rates)
• Travel & Hospitality: Concierges remembering preferences (35% higher repeat bookings)
• Real Estate: Assistants tracking property requirements (45% faster deal closure)
• Retail: Personal shoppers remembering style and history (3x higher conversion)

Anywhere relationship continuity matters, memory creates measurable value.

Common Issues & Quick Fixes

Issue 1: 500 Error When Testing Chat

Symptoms: Widget or API returns “Failed to send message: 500” error

Common Causes:

• DigitalOcean agent access key is invalid or expired
• Agent not fully deployed yet
• Agent experiencing temporary issues

Solution:

To refresh the agent access key, you can use the following script:

# Step 1: Create the refresh script (if not already created)
cat > refresh_agent_key.py << 'EOF'
"""Script to refresh the agent access key"""
import asyncio
import asyncpg
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from digitalocean_client import DigitalOceanGradientClient

load_dotenv()

async def refresh_agent_key():
conn = await asyncpg.connect(
host=os.getenv("POSTGRES_HOST", "localhost"),
port=int(os.getenv("POSTGRES_PORT", 5432)),
user=os.getenv("POSTGRES_USER", "do_user"),
password=os.getenv("POSTGRES_PASSWORD", "do_user_password"),
database=os.getenv("POSTGRES_DB", "customer_support"),
)

try:
agent = await conn.fetchrow("SELECT * FROM agents LIMIT 1")
if not agent:
print("No agent found")
return

agent_uuid = agent["agent_uuid"]
website_key = agent["website_key"]

client = DigitalOceanGradientClient()
access_key_response = await client.create_agent_access_key(
agent_uuid=agent_uuid,
key_name=f"key-{website_key}-refresh"
)

new_key = access_key_response.get("secret_key")
if new_key:
await conn.execute(
"UPDATE agents SET agent_access_key = $1 WHERE agent_uuid = $2",
new_key, agent_uuid
)
print(f"✓ New access key created (length: {len(new_key)})")
print("✓ Database updated")
else:
print(f"✗ Failed to get key: {access_key_response}")
finally:
await conn.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
asyncio.run(refresh_agent_key())
EOF

# Step 2: Run the refresh script
docker cp refresh_agent_key.py customer_support_api:/app/
docker exec customer_support_api python refresh_agent_key.py

# Step 3: Restart the API
docker-compose restart api

After restarting, wait 10-20 seconds and try your request again.

Issue 2: Memory Not Persisting Across Sessions

Symptoms: AI doesn’t remember previous conversations when user returns

Common Causes:

• user_id not provided in requests
• Different user_id used across sessions
• Memori API key not configured

Solution:

# Correct: Always include the same user_id
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/ask \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Domain-ID: $DOMAIN_ID" \
-d '{
"session_id": "your-session-id",
"user_id": "user_alice_123",  # ← Same user_id every time
"question": "Your question here"
}'

# Wrong: Omitting user_id
# This will work but won't have cross-session memory

Check your Memori API key:

# Verify MEMORI_API_KEY is set in .env
grep MEMORI_API_KEY .env

# Should show: MEMORI_API_KEY=mk_...

Issue 3: Agent Deployment Stuck

Symptoms: Agent status remains “STATUS_WAITING_FOR_DEPLOYMENT” after 5+ minutes

Solution:

# Check agent status
curl -X GET "http://localhost:8000/agents" | jq

# If stuck, check DigitalOcean logs
docker-compose logs api | grep -i "deployment\|agent"

# Force refresh by restarting the API
docker-compose restart api

If the issue persists, the agent may have failed to deploy. Check your DigitalOcean dashboard or contact support.

Issue 4: Widget Not Loading

Symptoms: Widget doesn’t appear on the webpage

Common Causes:

• Incorrect domainId in widget configuration
• API not accessible from browser
• CORS issues

Solution:

// 1. Verify domainId is correct (from Step 3)
console.log('Domain ID:', 'YOUR_DOMAIN_ID_HERE');

// 2. Check if API is accessible
fetch('http://localhost:8000/health')
.then((r) => r.json())
.then((d) => console.log('API Health:', d))
.catch((e) => console.error('API Error:', e));

// 3. Check browser console for errors
// Press F12 → Console tab

Issue 5: Knowledge Base Upload Fails

Symptoms: File upload returns error or knowledge base not attached to agent

Solution:

# Check supported file types
curl -X GET http://localhost:8000/knowledge/supported-types | jq

# Verify file size (should be < 10MB for most cases)
ls -lh /path/to/your/file.pdf

# Check if knowledge base was created
curl -X GET http://localhost:8000/knowledge-bases | jq

# If KB exists but not attached, wait 2 minutes for background task
# The system attaches KBs after agent deployment completes

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does conversation memory compression reduce token costs?

Conversation memory compression works by converting long conversation histories into concise summaries. Instead of sending 20 message exchanges (which could be 2,000+ tokens), Memori sends a compressed summary like “User Alice, order #12345, inquired about delivery” (about 20 tokens). This reduces token usage by 40-60% while maintaining context for your customer support AI.

2. Can I use this with other AI models besides Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct?

Yes. You can use any model available in your DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI Console. Update the DIGITALOCEAN_AI_MODEL_ID in your .env file with the model ID of your choice. Different models have varying performance characteristics, costs, and response times.

3. How does cross-session conversation memory work?

Cross-session conversation memory relies on the user_id parameter. When you provide the same user_id across different sessions, Memori retrieves compressed summaries from previous conversations and includes them in the context. This allows your customer support AI to remember information from days or weeks earlier without storing full conversation histories.

4. Is this architecture suitable for production?

Yes. The architecture includes:

• Multi-tenant isolation for security and privacy
• PostgreSQL for reliable data persistence
• Docker containerization for easy deployment
• Per-domain agent isolation for GDPR compliance
• Error handling and troubleshooting capabilities

For production, you’ll want to add monitoring, rate limiting, and deploy to cloud infrastructure. See our Docker deployment guides for production best practices.

5. What happens if the Memori API key expires?

If your Memori API key expires or becomes invalid, memory retrieval will fail, but the chat functionality will continue to work without memory. You’ll see errors in the API logs. To fix this, update the MEMORI_API_KEY in your .env file and restart the services.

6. How do I scale this for high traffic?

For high traffic, consider:

• Using a managed PostgreSQL database like DigitalOcean Managed Databases
• Deploying the FastAPI backend to DigitalOcean App Platform or Droplets with load balancing
• Implementing caching for frequently accessed memories
• Using connection pooling for database connections
• Adding rate limiting to prevent abuse

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you’ve set up a robust, production-ready customer support AI agent with persistent conversation memory using DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, and the Memori SDK. Your completed system doesn’t just answer questions,it remembers customer interactions across sessions, resulting in more natural conversations and reducing token costs by up to 60%.

In this guide, you:

• Built and deployed an end-to-end AI support system that can be tailored to your business with FastAPI and PostgreSQL.
• Integrated advanced conversation memory to provide your users with context-aware assistance, improving resolution times and customer satisfaction.
• Enabled multi-tenant, secure deployment patterns, making your architecture fit for SaaS use across multiple domains while maintaining privacy.
• Laid the groundwork for real-world scalability and reliability by leveraging Docker, DigitalOcean infrastructure, and memory-efficient design.

This conversational memory pattern isn’t just for customer support,it’s a proven approach in industries like healthcare, fintech, travel, and education, wherever continuity and personalization improve results.

Want to go even further? Experiment with connecting your agent to your domain knowledge, CRM, or ticketing systems, and monitor actual user conversations so you can iterate and optimize over time. For advanced and real-time AI agent patterns—including serverless workflows and horizontal scaling, check out our tutorial on building real-time AI agents with Gradient and serverless functions.

Next Steps

Add domain-specific knowledge

• Upload your FAQ documents, product manuals, policies
• Train the agent on your specific use cases

Customize the conversation flow

• Modify system prompts in the backend
• Add business logic for escalation triggers

Monitor and optimize

• Track token usage and costs
• Analyze conversation patterns for improvements
• A/B test different greeting messages

Scale for production

• Deploy to DigitalOcean App Platform or Droplets with load balancing
• Set up monitoring and alerting
• Implement rate limiting and security measures
• Consider DigitalOcean Managed Databases for PostgreSQL

Integrate with existing systems

• Connect to CRM for customer data
• Integrate with ticketing systems for escalation
• Add analytics dashboard for insights

Ready to keep building? Continue your journey with DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI Platform for seamless deployment, scaling, and management of your intelligent applications.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International License.