How do I choose the Max level and how much it reasons?
In the message box footer, next to the microphone, click the Max button to pick the level (Standard, Advanced or Ultra) and set Reasoning between Low, Medium and High. The choice applies from your next message, in that conversation only.
Before you start:
- The button shows up in every Max conversation: in the floating panel, on the Max screen and in the Max Design editor.
- Anyone who can chat with Max can change the level. No extra setup is needed.
1. Find the button
The button sits in the message box footer, on the right, before the microphone and the send button — in a new chat, in an open conversation and in the Max Design editor. It shows the level with its indicator and the reasoning, for example $ Standard · Low.
In a new chat, what you pick applies from the first message of the new conversation.
2. Pick the level
Click the button and, under Max model, click the level:
Each extra $ makes a reply much more expensive than at the level before it. To see how Standard and Ultra compare in cost to Advanced, hover over their $.
3. Set the reasoning
In the same button, below the levels, drag the bar between Faster and Smarter: the three dots are Low, Medium and High, and the chosen level shows at the top. With the keyboard, the arrow keys change the level. The change applies when you let go of the bar. With more reasoning, Max thinks longer before answering: the reply takes longer and costs more.
Every conversation starts with Low reasoning. When you switch levels, the reasoning you picked stays the same.
When the change applies
- From the next message you send. An answer already in progress finishes on the level it started with.
- Only in the open conversation. Each conversation keeps its own level and reasoning, and other conversations don't change.
If it didn't work
- "We could not change the model. Try again.": the change wasn't saved and the conversation stays on the previous level. Open the button and pick again.
- While the change is being confirmed, the button shows a loading animation and the other options are locked. Wait a moment before picking another option.