Atom / Reasoning
Not every question deserves the same amount of thought. Atom lets you decide, message by message, and shows its reasoning so you can trust the result.
The modes
Fastest
Replies begin immediately. Ideal for drafting, rewriting, quick facts and back-and-forth conversation.
Instant skips the visible thinking step entirely. Atom answers from the prompt and the conversation so far, which makes it the right default for chat, editing and anything you would otherwise type into a search box.
Balanced
Atom pauses to reason before answering. Better for analysis, planning and multi-step questions.
Medium gives Atom a bounded thinking budget. It works through the problem, checks itself once, then answers. Expect a few seconds of visible reasoning on most prompts.
Most thorough
Extended thinking for hard problems: math, code, research synthesis, with the reasoning shown as it happens.
High lets Atom think for as long as the problem needs. It will decompose the task, explore alternatives and verify before committing. Use it for anything you would hand to a careful colleague and expect back tomorrow.
Choosing
| If you are | Start with |
|---|---|
| Drafting an email or a paragraph | Instant |
| Rewriting for tone or length | Instant |
| Summarizing a document you attached | Medium |
| Comparing options and recommending one | Medium |
| Debugging code or checking a proof | High |
| Planning something with many moving parts | High |
Questions
Send your hardest question at High and read the working.