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Perplexica offers three search modes that let you control the tradeoff between answer speed and research depth. Each mode adjusts how thoroughly the AI researches your query before generating an answer.

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Available modes

Speed

Quick answers for straightforward queries

Balanced

The default mode for everyday searches

Quality

Deep research for complex questions

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Speed mode

Speed mode prioritizes fast responses over comprehensive research. It’s ideal when you need a quick answer to a simple question. Best for:
  • Quick facts and definitions
  • Simple calculations
  • Straightforward questions with clear answers
  • When you value response time over depth
How it works: In Speed mode, Perplexica performs a focused search with minimal research steps. The AI gathers essential information quickly and generates an answer with basic citations.
Speed mode still provides cited sources, just with less comprehensive background research than other modes.

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Balanced mode

Balanced mode is the default setting that works well for most searches. It strikes a middle ground between speed and thoroughness. Best for:
  • General knowledge questions
  • News and current events
  • Product research
  • Most everyday queries
How it works: Balanced mode conducts a moderate level of research, gathering multiple sources and running relevant widgets in parallel. This provides reliable answers with good citation coverage without taking too long.

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Quality mode

Quality mode performs the deepest research, ideal for complex topics that require comprehensive understanding. Best for:
  • Academic research
  • In-depth technical questions
  • Complex topics requiring multiple perspectives
  • When accuracy and depth matter more than speed
How it works: Quality mode runs extensive research operations, gathering information from multiple sources and analyzing them thoroughly. The AI takes more time to reason through the findings before generating a detailed, well-cited answer.
Quality mode may take significantly longer than other modes, especially for complex queries that require deep research.

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Switching modes

You can change the search mode at any time:
  1. Look for the mode selector in the search interface
  2. Click to choose Speed, Balanced, or Quality
  3. Your selection applies to the current and future searches
  4. Each chat can use different modes as needed

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Mode comparison

FeatureSpeedBalancedQuality
Response timeFastestModerateSlowest
Research depthMinimalModerateExtensive
Source coverageBasicGoodComprehensive
Best use caseQuick factsGeneral queriesDeep research

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How modes affect research

The optimization mode is passed to the search agent as part of the configuration: 
mode: 'speed' | 'balanced' | 'quality'
This parameter influences:
  • How many research iterations the AI performs
  • The depth of tool usage during research
  • The reasoning complexity applied to findings
  • The thoroughness of citation gathering
All three modes use the same underlying AI models and search infrastructure. The difference is in how deeply the system researches before answering.

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