Definition
Plain language
A private space where an AI can write out its working notes before giving a final answer.
As stated in the literature
A region of generation, often hidden from the user, where an agent records intermediate reasoning, plans, or state; in multi-agent systems these are compressed into structured notes for communication.
Also called: scratchpads
Why it matters: It gives a model room to think things through and lets agents pass along their reasoning, improving both answers and coordination.
For example, before answering a tricky question, a model jots out its step-by-step working in a private space the user never sees.
Heard on the show
“A scratchpad lets the model walk the candidates one at a time and apply the rule to each — which is the same route as writing the rule and letting a machine run it, just executed internally.”Episode 233 — Why a Model Can Grade an Answer But Not Write the Answer Key