01
AI Agents
Context Freshness: Keeping AI Agent Context Current
Learn what context freshness means for AI agents, why context goes stale, how it differs from context drift, and how teams keep agent context current.
Atlan staff
Emily Winks
Data Governance Expert
Emily Winks is a data governance expert who came to data through library and information science. Over 18+ years she has moved from children's librarian to information architect at WeWork to Atlan's Founder's Office, bringing a cataloging discipline to how enterprises classify, govern, and trust their data. She writes on data governance, enterprise data management, and the context layer.
/ Profile
About Emily.
After graduating with a Master of Library and Information Science and a certificate in Records Management and Archives, Emily began her career as a children's librarian. After seven years in libraries she left to join the corporate workforce — she doesn't sing The Hokey Pokey (as often) anymore, but still puts her whole self in when it comes to navigating the ambiguities of data, making digital information clear, and empowering others to do the same.
She spent her library years at the Smithtown Special Library District and as a Senior Librarian at the New York Public Library before moving into information architecture. At WeWork she progressed from Information Architect to Senior Information Architect to Data Product Architect, building the classification and data structures behind a fast-scaling business.
Emily joined Atlan's Founder's Office in 2023, where she works at the intersection of data governance, enterprise data management, and the context layer — writing on how organizations classify, govern, and make their data trustworthy for both teams and AI agents.
Press, talks & code
Certifications & training
Recent articles by Emily Winks.
12 showing
- 02AI Agent Context Layer
Context Layer for Data Analytics Teams: Ending Metric Conflicts
A context layer for data analytics teams governs metric definitions and lineage across every BI tool and copilot, so AI analysts stop disagreeing.
- 03AI Agent Governance
Context Layer for Data Governance Teams [2026]
Learn how a context layer for data governance teams enforces policy, lineage, and glossary definitions at AI agent runtime, not after the fact.
- 04AI Agents
Context Layer for Retail AI: Why Agents Fail Without Context
A context layer for retail AI unifies SKU, inventory, and customer identity so merchandising and service agents stop working from conflicting data.
- 05AI Agent Architecture
Context Layer for SDLC: AI Coding Agents [2026]
A context layer for SDLC gives AI coding agents business meaning, lineage, and policy context so agents stop guessing at what a schema change breaks.
- 06AI Agents
Context Portability for AI Agents: Why It Matters
Context portability keeps AI agent definitions and policies consistent across platforms. See how it works, why it matters at scale, and how to build it.
- 07Knowledge
GDPR Compliance for AI Agents: Lawful Basis, DPIAs and Erasure
GDPR compliance for AI agents requires lawful basis mapping, DPIAs, and erasure controls that reach agent memory. See how governed metadata operationalizes it.
- 08AI & Data Governance
HIPAA Compliance for AI Agents: PHI, BAAs and Minimum Necessary
HIPAA compliance for AI agents covers PHI access, minimum necessary, BAAs, audit controls, and breach notification via governed metadata.
- 09AI & Data Governance
How to Give AI Agents Access to Enterprise Data
Learn how to give AI agents access to enterprise data safely: source inventory, fine-grained permissions, governed MCP exposure, and query auditing.
- 10AI & Data Governance
How to Make AI Agents Context-Aware
Learn how to make AI agents context-aware: perceive session state, environment signals, and real-time changes, with steps and pitfalls.
- 11AI & Data Governance
How to Structure Context for AI Agents: A Practical Guide
Learn how to structure context for AI agents across system prompts, retrieved knowledge, memory, and tool outputs with a governed schema.
- 12AI Agents
How to Build a Knowledge Graph for AI Agents
Learn how to build a knowledge graph for AI agents, including schema design, entity and relationship modeling, and connecting the graph to agents via MCP.
Transparency
Editorial relationship
Atlan staff byline
Emily is a member of the Atlan team. Articles published under her byline reflect her own analysis and expertise; Atlan's editorial team works with her on structure and clarity but does not author content attributed to her. She reviews and approves every piece published under her byline before publication.
Reach Emily