diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 74b74a958..4d5c93b54 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 - Memory: add vector search for agent memories (Markdown-only scope) with SQLite index, chunking, lazy sync + file watch, and per-agent enablement/fallback.
 
 ### Changes
+- Agents: strengthen memory recall guidance (memory_search mandatory for past work/preferences; system prompt injects conditional recall section; memory_get now described as safe snippet fetch).
 - Browser: add `scrollintoview` action to scroll refs into view before click/type.
 - Memory: embedding providers support OpenAI or local `node-llama-cpp`; config adds defaults + per-agent overrides, provider/fallback metadata surfaced in tools/CLI.
 - CLI/Tools: new `clawdbot memory` commands plus `memory_search`/`memory_get` tools returning snippets + line ranges and provider info.
diff --git a/src/agents/system-prompt.ts b/src/agents/system-prompt.ts
index d71fad490..522c38cfc 100644
--- a/src/agents/system-prompt.ts
+++ b/src/agents/system-prompt.ts
@@ -183,6 +183,14 @@ export function buildAgentSystemPrompt(params: {
         "",
       ]
     : [];
+  const memorySection =
+    availableTools.has("memory_search") || availableTools.has("memory_get")
+      ? [
+          "## Memory Recall",
+          "Before answering anything about prior work, decisions, dates, people, preferences, or todos: run memory_search on MEMORY.md + memory/*.md; then use memory_get to pull only the needed lines. If low confidence after search, say you checked.",
+          "",
+        ]
+      : [];
 
   const lines = [
     "You are a personal assistant running inside Clawdbot.",
@@ -212,6 +220,7 @@ export function buildAgentSystemPrompt(params: {
     "If a task is more complex or takes longer, spawn a sub-agent. It will do the work for you and ping you when it's done. You can always check up on it.",
     "",
     ...skillsSection,
+    ...memorySection,
     hasGateway ? "## Clawdbot Self-Update" : "",
     hasGateway
       ? [
diff --git a/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts b/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
index de2b0251b..a3fc80484 100644
--- a/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
+++ b/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ export function createMemorySearchTool(options: {
     label: "Memory Search",
     name: "memory_search",
     description:
-      "Search agent memory files (MEMORY.md + memory/*.md) using semantic vectors.",
+      "Mandatory recall step: semantically search MEMORY.md + memory/*.md before answering questions about prior work, decisions, dates, people, preferences, or todos; returns top snippets with path + lines.",
     parameters: MemorySearchSchema,
     execute: async (_toolCallId, params) => {
       const query = readStringParam(params, "query", { required: true });
@@ -77,7 +77,8 @@ export function createMemoryGetTool(options: {
   return {
     label: "Memory Get",
     name: "memory_get",
-    description: "Read a memory file by path (workspace-relative).",
+    description:
+      "Safe snippet read from MEMORY.md or memory/*.md with optional from/lines; use after memory_search to pull only the needed lines and keep context small.",
     parameters: MemoryGetSchema,
     execute: async (_toolCallId, params) => {
       const relPath = readStringParam(params, "path", { required: true });