Explore Mode

Explore mode is a conversational research companion that proactively searches the web, cites sources, reasons through comparisons, and helps you build a deep understanding of any topic — all within a real-time chat.

How It Works

1. Ask about anything — open AI Chat and select Explore from the mode selector, or just ask a curiosity-driven question and Theo will auto-switch when it detects exploration intent.

2. Theo searches first — unlike other modes, Explore defaults to searching the web before answering. It runs multiple searches from different angles for broad topics.

3. Cited, reasoned responses — every response includes inline source citations and transparent reasoning. When sources conflict, both sides are presented.

4. Keep exploring — follow-up suggestions at the end of each response help you dive deeper, compare alternatives, or synthesize your findings into a project.

Capabilities

Proactive Web Search

Theo searches the web automatically when your question involves facts, current events, companies, or anything that benefits from real-time data.

Inline Citations

Every claim backed by search results includes the source — domain names, publication dates, and links you can verify.

Follow-Up Suggestions

Each response ends with 2–3 suggested directions to keep exploring — deeper dives, comparisons, or artifact creation.

Knowledge Maps

After exploring a topic across multiple turns, Theo can visualize the connections as an interactive concept map you can edit.

Extended Reasoning

Explore mode uses adaptive reasoning to think through comparisons, trade-offs, and evaluations transparently.

Artifact Synthesis

At any point, ask Theo to save your exploration as notes, a document, a presentation, or a flowchart.

Explore vs. Research vs. Fast

Fast Mode

Quick answers, no proactive searching. Best for simple questions and rapid-fire tasks.

Explore Mode

Conversational investigation with proactive web search, inline citations, reasoning, and follow-up suggestions. Responses stream in real-time. Best for understanding topics, comparing options, and iterative discovery.

Deep Research

Heavyweight report generation — 8-12 parallel searches, page reading, and a formal multi-section document. Takes 3-5 minutes. Best for comprehensive reports and market analysis.

Example Prompts

Tell me about the current state of solid-state batteries
Compare Next.js, Remix, and SvelteKit for a startup
What's happening with AI regulation in the EU?
Explore the pros and cons of remote-first companies
What should I know about Ecuador's public health system?
Dive into how Perplexity AI's search architecture works

Knowledge Maps

After exploring a topic across several turns, Theo can generate a knowledge map— a visual concept map showing how the entities, ideas, and relationships you've discovered connect to each other.

Knowledge maps are saved as flowchart projects that you can open, edit, and share. They use node types to distinguish concepts (data nodes), processes (process nodes), outcomes (terminal nodes), and trade-offs (decision nodes).

Be curious, not formal.Explore mode works best with natural questions like "What's the deal with solid-state batteries?" rather than formal report requests (use Deep Research for those).

AI Credits

Explore mode uses moderate credits per message — more than Fast mode (due to web searches and extended reasoning) but less than Deep Research. A typical explore response with 2-3 web searches uses roughly 15-20K tokens.

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