Choosing a mode¶
This page is for anyone who uses an AI assistant on the site: content editors, site builders, marketers, testers. You do not need any administrative access to pick a mode.
What the dropdown does¶
The Mode dropdown is the answer to one question: what do you want the assistant to work on? Pick the mode that matches the job, then type your request as usual.
The first option is always the default:
- All, let the assistant decide. The assistant behaves exactly as it does without this module. Nothing is narrowed.
Below it are the modes your site offers, in the order an administrator gave them.
Choosing a mode usually does not remove any of the assistant's abilities. It adds a short line to the request telling the assistant which of its sub-agents to route the work to, so it spends less effort deciding and stays closer to the task.
An administrator can also mark a mode as one that withholds. In that mode the assistant genuinely cannot reach the sub-agents the mode leaves out, so it may answer that it cannot do something it could do in another mode. That is the mode working, not a fault: switch to another mode, or to All, let the assistant decide.
Where to find it¶
In the Drupal Canvas AI panel the dropdown sits wherever the site is configured to put it: at the top of the panel, above the message box, under the message box, or tucked into the message box toolbar next to the send button. The toolbar placement is the default. An administrator sets this once for the whole site, so it is in the same place for everyone.
In the AI Assistant chatbot the dropdown sits where the site put it: above the chat under the panel header, under the message box, or in the panel header beside the assistant name. An administrator chooses that once for the whole site.
Elsewhere on the site an administrator can place the AI Agent Mode selector block next to any AI chat. In the block version you choose a mode and then press Apply mode, and the site confirms with a message.
How long the choice lasts¶
Your choice is remembered for you, for the conversation you are in. It is not a site setting and it does not change what anyone else sees. Set it once and keep working.
In the Canvas AI panel and the chatbot the choice is saved the moment you pick it. There is no save button and no page reload.
Going back to All, let the assistant decide clears the choice, and the assistant returns to working with everything it has.
An example set of modes¶
Modes are named by whoever creates them, so no two sites need to look alike. The set below was created on a Drupal CMS site with Drupal Canvas, to split page-building work from content-structure work.
| Mode | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Page Builder Only | Building and adjusting pages |
| Component Builder | Working on a single component |
| Template Builder | Working on templates |
| Content Types & Fields | Content structure work rather than page layout |
| Views & Listings | Listings and overview pages |
The Modes listing at Configuration > AI > AI Agent Modes.
Ask whoever administers your site what your own modes cover, or read the description column on each mode's edit form.
If there is no dropdown¶
The dropdown hides itself when there is nothing to choose. Both the Canvas AI panel and the chatbot leave it out entirely when the only option would be "All, let the assistant decide", which happens when the site has no modes saved for that assistant yet.
Two assistants on the same site can also offer different lists on purpose: a mode can be limited to selected assistants, so a mode a colleague sees in one chat is not always offered in another.
In the toolbar placement there is one more thing to know: the compact control only appears while the send button is visible, and the send button stays hidden until there is something to send. So on a fresh, empty chat the toolbar looks bare. Type a few characters and the dropdown appears next to the send button. This is deliberate, not a fault.
See Troubleshooting if the dropdown is still missing.
Watch it¶
Using the mode selector, 43 seconds: opening the assistant panel, picking a mode, and the assistant scoped to that job.
The same selector in its compact placement, tucked into the message box toolbar.