Chat Modes
Thallus offers four conversation modes, each designed for different types of questions. You can select a mode before sending each message, or let Thallus choose automatically.
Overview
| Mode | Speed | Typical Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | Varies | Varies | Most users — let Thallus decide |
| Ask | Fast (~5s) | $ | Quick lookups, simple questions |
| Research | Medium (~15–45s) | $$ | Multi-step analysis, reports |
| Investigate | Slow (~1–3 min) | $$$ | Deep investigations, hypothesis-driven exploration |
Ask mode
Ask mode uses a single agent to answer your question directly. It's the fastest and cheapest option, best for straightforward lookups and simple questions.
If a deeper analysis is needed, Ask mode automatically escalates to Research mode. This means you never get a shallow answer when a deeper one is needed.
When to use Ask: Quick factual lookups, simple summaries, questions that only need one source.
Research mode
Research mode creates a structured execution plan with multiple steps that can run in parallel. A planner analyzes your question, decides which agents and tools to use, and orchestrates them with dependency tracking.
After each batch of steps completes, an evaluator checks the results. If the answer is incomplete, Research mode can replan multiple times — adding new steps to fill gaps without discarding work already done. See How Orchestration Works for details on the planning and evaluation loop.
When to use Research: Questions that span multiple data sources, require comparing documents with database records, or need a structured analytical approach.
Investigate mode
Investigate mode uses a reactive approach — exploring your question from multiple angles, updating its understanding as new evidence comes in. Rather than planning everything upfront, it decides what to investigate next based on what's been found so far.
At key decision points, Thallus pauses and asks you to steer the investigation. You can choose to continue, focus on a specific angle, or summarize what's been found so far.
When to use Investigate: Open-ended questions where you don't know what you're looking for, root-cause analysis, exploratory research where findings shape the next steps.
Auto mode
Auto mode analyzes your query and context to choose the best mode. It balances speed and thoroughness based on the nature of your question and your connected data sources.
Auto mode is the default and recommended setting for most users.
Choosing the right mode
Use this decision framework:
- One agent can answer it → Ask
- Need a plan with specific steps upfront → Research
- Findings should shape what happens next → Investigate
- Not sure → Auto (let Thallus decide)
Example queries
| Query | Best Mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "What's our refund policy?" | Ask | Single document lookup |
| "Summarize last week's emails" | Ask | One agent, one data source |
| "Compare Q3 vs Q4 sales by region" | Research | Multiple data sources, structured comparison |
| "What drove the revenue drop in March?" | Research | Needs documents + database + analysis steps |
| "Why are customers churning more than last year?" | Investigate | Open-ended, hypothesis-driven exploration |
| "Audit our vendor contracts for compliance risks" | Investigate | Complex, findings shape next steps |
For more on how queries are executed once a mode is selected, see How Orchestration Works and Progress Tracking.