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Thinking Mode

Thinking mode lets the assistant reason through your question before it answers. It is a single switch: off for fast replies, on for a more careful answer that also shows you its reasoning.

You control it with the brain icon in the chat input toolbar, and you can flip it at any point in a conversation.

Where to Find It​

The switch sits in the toolbar under the chat input box, next to the + (Add File) and Tools buttons.

It is a brain icon — not a text label. The icon's colour tells you whether thinking is on:

How the icon looksWhat it means
Grey brain iconThinking is off — this is the default
Purple brain icon on a light purple backgroundThinking is on

Hover over the icon to see a tooltip with the current state: "Thinking: off (fast response)" or "Thinking: on (slower, shows the thinking bubble)".

:::info There is no menu The brain icon does not open a list of modes. If you remember choosing between Auto, Fast, Deep and Ultra, those levels have been replaced by this single on/off switch. :::

Off or On​

SettingWhat happensGood for
Off (default)The answer starts right away. No reasoning is shownEveryday questions, quick lookups, drafting and rewriting
OnThe assistant reasons first, then answers. The reply takes noticeably longer to start, and the reasoning appears in a thinking bar above itComparing options, weighing risks, multi-step analysis, answers you want to double-check

How to Turn Thinking On or Off​

  1. Go to the chat input area at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Click the brain icon in the toolbar under the input box. One click turns thinking on and the icon turns purple; another click turns it off and the icon goes back to grey.
  3. Type your message and send it.

The switch stays the way you left it for the messages you send next — including when you move to another conversation — until you click it again. It goes back to off when you reload the page or sign in again.

note

Because the switch stays where you left it, it is worth glancing at the brain icon before sending an important message.

Watching the Assistant Think​

With thinking on, a small thinking bar appears above the reply.

While it is thinking:

  • The bar shows an animated indicator and the word "Thinking".
  • It opens automatically, so you can read the reasoning as it is written.
  • The reasoning appears as small grey text in a scrollable area.
  • Click the bar to collapse it if you would rather not watch.

When it has finished:

  • The bar collapses on its own and shows how long the reasoning took — for example "Thought for 6s".
  • Click the bar to expand it again and re-read the reasoning at any time.
  • The final answer appears below the bar.
info

The reasoning text is read-only — you can't edit it or reply to it. It is there so you can follow and double-check how the assistant reached its answer.

note

The thinking bar belongs to thinking mode. With the switch off, you get the answer without the reasoning.

When to Turn It On​

There is no wrong choice — these are suggestions to help you decide:

SituationSuggested setting
Most everyday questionsOff
"What does our policy say about...?"Off
"Summarise this document"Off
A short factual lookup you just want answeredOff
"Compare these two options and recommend one"On
"What are the risks of this decision?"On
A large, multi-part analysisOn
A detailed plan you want thought through end to endOn

Tips​

  • Leave it off for everyday work. Replies start much sooner.
  • Turn it on when the answer matters more than speed. Using it for a simple lookup mostly means waiting longer for the same answer.
  • Check the icon colour before you send. A purple brain icon means thinking is still on from earlier.
  • Read the reasoning when the answer matters. Expanding the thinking bar is a quick way to confirm the assistant understood your question the way you meant it.
  • Thinking mode is separate from Tools. Web Search and Document Search are switched on from the Tools button — see Using AI Tools.