Models & context

Compare models without losing either answer

Compare up to four selected models in Chat or use provider-based Battle Mode on Canvas, then continue from the answer you choose.

Before you start

Comparison is useful when you want several independent answers to the same prompt. The product offers two different ways to do that. In Chat, you select up to four specific models. Battle Mode on Canvas instead asks the top featured model from each available provider. Battle Mode is provider-based, not a shortcut for selecting the same four models from Chat.

You can compare only models available to your account. If you attach images, each chosen model must support vision. Read the cost estimate and response length before sending: every generated answer can use credits.

When to use this

Use Chat comparison when you already know which models you want to test—for example, a concise model alongside a more analytical one. Use Canvas Battle Mode when you want a broad provider-by-provider first pass without manually selecting models. For an existing answer, Other model creates an alternative from the same prompt.

Steps

Open a workspace and choose Chat in the header, or start a new Chat conversation.
In the composer, choose the first model. Click Compare to add another model, then select it from the model picker. Repeat only until you have the models you need; the composer allows at most four at a time.
Check that all selected models can use the attached material. If the composer disables a model while an image is attached, remove the image or choose a vision-capable model.
Choose Short, Medium, or Extended and review the estimate, then send one prompt. Each selected model receives that same prompt and answers independently.
Select an answer in the carousel. Use Previous and Next or click a side card to inspect another answer. The other answers remain available as parallel branches.
In Canvas, draft a prompt and select the swords-icon Battle Mode control to request the top featured model from each provider. Review the resulting sibling nodes and continue from the one you prefer.
To ask a different model about an existing Chat answer, click Other model below that answer and select a model. This creates another answer as a branch; it does not replace the original.

Worked example

Ask: “Suggest a name for a feature that compares AI answers side by side. Give three options and explain the audience and trade-off for each.” In Chat, add two or three distinct models with Compare. Notice whether one gives more original names while another explains trade-offs more clearly. Select the strongest answer and continue with “Make the best option easier to pronounce in Spanish.” Alternatively, use Canvas Battle Mode if you want the first pass to span available providers.

What happens next

Chat keeps the alternatives together in a carousel and stores them as sibling branches in the same workspace. Continue from the selected answer, use Regenerate to ask the same model again, or choose Other model for another perspective. On Canvas, compare sibling nodes directly or select several and Merge to ask a model to synthesize them. Review the answers against the criteria that matter for your task before choosing a branch.

Cost and limitations

Chat allows up to four explicitly selected models per message; the maximum applies to that comparison, not the size of the model catalog. Battle Mode chooses one featured model per available provider and can therefore produce a different number and set of answers. Each answer is generated independently and may incur its own credit cost. Estimates depend on model and length; actual usage is shown on each answer. Free models can have shared availability limits. A model that cannot read an attached image cannot participate in that prompt.

Troubleshooting

Compare is missing: use the Chat composer; Battle Mode is a separate control on a Canvas draft and appears only when multiple providers are available.
You cannot add another model: remove one of the selected models; Chat comparison is capped at four.
A model is unavailable or paused: choose another listed model and try again later. Free-model availability can be shared.
Answers differ in length or style: each provider follows its own behavior. Keep the prompt, context, and selected length consistent when comparing.
A result looks like it replaced another: use the carousel or return to Canvas; parallel answers are preserved as branches.