Models and tools in chat

The model picker

Open the Model picker in the composer. Quick pick offers Akili's four meta models: Auto (Akili picks per message), Fast (quick answers, lowest cost), Balanced (everyday writing and analysis) and Deep (long reasoning). All models lists every provider model your organization has enabled, grouped as Akili models and Provider models, with a search box, filters for vision, thinking, search, self-hosted and available only, a cost tier from 1 to 4, and a star to add favorites.

• Switch mid-conversation. Pick a different model at any point; the next message uses it. The regenerate menu also offers Regenerate with another model for the last answer.
• Set a default. Set {model} as my default makes it the model for new chats; Use Auto for new chats clears it. The picker's last line explains the previous message: Auto chose {model} ({reason}) or you chose.
• Availability. A model you cannot use shows why: Included with {plan}, Outside your data boundary, No key · ask admin, Contributor tier not allowed here, or Retires on {date} · use the successor.
• Organization restrictions. With the policy Restrict AI model selection on, members only see the models the organization approved in its Capabilities tab.

Web search

Choose Enable web search in the + menu (the chip reads search); the answer then carries a Searched the web badge and a Sources list. The entry reads Model doesn't support search for models without a search tool. If an administrator turned web search off for the organization, the composer says so and points to Organization settings, where the policy is webSearchEnabled.

Searches are metered: each credit period includes a number of searches, and beyond that allowance each search costs a multiple of the included rate in credits. The price line shown while deep research is on reports how many included searches you have left this period.

Deep research

1. Step 101

   Turn it on

   Choose Deep research in the + menu (the hint reads Advanced search, up to 12 steps, cited answer), or use the Research start card on the home page. Deep research needs web search on the current model; the menu says Needs web search on this model otherwise.
2. Step 202

   Read the price line

   Before you send, a line under the composer reads About N searches, N credits, how many included searches are left this period and, past the allowance, the overage multiplier. Deep research is charged per run.
3. Step 303

   Watch it work

   The answer streams with Researching: searching the web, then Researching: N sources so far. The finished answer carries a Research turn badge with the number of searches it made.
4. Step 404

   Know the fallbacks

   If web search becomes unavailable mid-way, Akili says Deep research needs web search, so it was turned off. If a run cannot start, the message is answered as an ordinary turn and says so.

Thinking

Enable thinking in the + menu asks a reasoning-capable model to think before it answers; the chip reads thinking and the answer opens with a collapsible Thinking block you can read or ignore. Models without the capability show Thinking not supported. The regenerate menu's Longer reasoning option asks for a deeper pass on the last answer.

Attachments

Use Attach a file or image, drop files onto the composer, or paste an image (it is named Pasted image). Documents are read as text; images go to the model when it can see them, otherwise a helper model describes the image and the answer says so.

Files over the limit for their category are rejected with a notice naming the file and the limit; the rest upload normally.

Knowledge bases in a chat

Attach a knowledge base from the composer to ground the conversation in your own documents. The picker shows each base's state (N documents ready, N documents still indexing, No documents yet), and you can attach several; the chip then reads N knowledge bases attached. Passages the model used appear in the Sources list with their page or passage number. Create and manage bases on the Knowledge bases page.

Voice: dictation and read-aloud

Dictation

Press Voice input in the composer and speak; press Stop recording when done. Browsers with built-in speech recognition transcribe locally; others record and send the audio to Akili's voice service, showing Transcribing… until the text arrives. A browser with neither shows Voice input not supported in this browser.

Read aloud

Every answer has Read aloud. Akili synthesizes the audio (Preparing audio…) and plays it; Stop reading halts it.

Tools the model can call

Tools run when the model decides a step needs them; you do not call them yourself. Each one leaves a visible trace in the answer (a code block with Code, Console and Output tabs, a Reading a web page… line, a generated image card) so you can see what happened.

Tool access mode

Settings → Capabilities → Tool access mode chooses between Load tools when needed, Always load tools and Never load tools. With Never, Akili also stops reading pages from links you paste. Connector discovery, on the same tab, lets Akili suggest connectors from the directory that fit the conversation.

Connected apps and approvals

The Connected apps indicator in the composer lists the MCP servers available to this chat, or offers Connect apps when there are none. A server an administrator paused shows Paused by your organization. When a tool wants to act on your behalf, Akili asks Approve this action?; Approve for this chat skips the question for the rest of the conversation.

Memory

With Generate memory from chat history on (Settings → Capabilities), Akili keeps durable facts from your chats and projects and uses them in later conversations. View and manage memory lists each one with where it came from, lets you delete it or clear them all, and marks each as Private — never shared with assistants or exports or Shared — assistants you approve can read it.

• Import. Import memory from other AI providers accepts a ChatGPT or Claude export file or an Akili context package; memories merge with what is already there. Importing is a plan feature (memory.import) and the tab says Importing requires a higher plan otherwise.
• Organization policy. An owner or admin can disable memory for every member; the tab then reads Memory is disabled by your organization and nothing is generated or injected.
• Context key. Organizations that encrypt member context need you to unlock your key each session; until then chats show Your memories and messages are locked with an Unlock action.
• Export. Settings → Privacy → Export data builds a package of your profile, memories, chats, projects and agents, kept for seven days, optionally sealed with a passphrase Akili never stores.

Organization instructions

Settings → Org Instructions holds org-wide instructions that apply to members' conversations, for example Always cite sources. Never share customer PII outside approved tools. Only organization admins and owners can write, save or deactivate them; everyone else sees a note saying so. Your own Instructions for Akili in Settings remain personal and apply on top.

Good to know

• If a tool chip disappears when you change model: the picker warns turns off {capability} before you switch; search and thinking only stay on for models that support them.
• If you are on a self-hosted or regional model: the model line under an answer shows Routed locally or Stays in {region}; Why this model? explains the choice.
• If an administrator has not added a provider: models from that provider show No key · ask admin. Organizations can bring their own provider keys under Organization settings.
• If you share a knowledge base with an agent: attach it on the agent instead, so every chat with that agent is grounded without attaching it by hand. See Knowledge and connectors for agents.