Problem
Some questions need a quick answer; others need research. People need to understand which behavior they are choosing and how long it may take.
Solution
Offer a small set of clearly named modes, such as searching the web or doing deeper research. Describe what each does and show meaningful differences in time or usage cost before people start.
Keep the mode distinct from the model choice. If the system chooses a mode automatically, show the choice and allow an override where supported.
Make the active mode visible near the message field. Say whether it applies to one request or stays active for the conversation, so a costly mode is not left on unnoticed.
Use when
The assistant offers different ways of working with meaningful differences in time, tools, or cost.
Don’t use when
The difference between modes is a few per cent of quality. A toggle implies a real fork, and offering one where none exists teaches people to fiddle with settings instead of writing better questions.
Trade-offs
Mode choices add a decision before sending a request. Automatic selection reduces that work but can choose poorly. Remembering a mode saves repeated setup and can also lead to unexpected usage.
Checklist
- Is the mode control visually distinct from the model control?
- Are the options verbs rather than nouns?
- Is the time cost of the slowest mode stated before it runs?
- Does the viewer learn what a mode costs against their quota?
- Does the mode persist, and for how long, and is that visible?
- If routing is automatic, is the escalation disclosed on the turn?
- Can the viewer force the fast path?
- What happens to a mode when the model is changed?
- Is the active mode legible without opening a menu?
- Can a long research mode be interrupted, and what survives?
Compare
ChatGPT separates search and extended reasoning as explicit toggles beside the composer, so effort is chosen independently of the model. Claude binds extended thinking to a budget and streams a summary of the work, so the slow mode is legible while it runs instead of only at the end. Perplexity builds the whole product around the mode, with focus and source-set controls that change where it searches rather than how hard it thinks. Gemini leans further toward routing the choice automatically. That suits a consumer audience, and it turns escalation into something to disclose rather than something to select.
Related
Model picker chooses the model rather than its working mode. Reasoning disclosure summarizes a longer analysis. Source list shows material found through search.
Usage meter tracks the cost of these choices. Composer holds the mode control.