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Arena Mode lets you send the same message to two different AI models at once and compare their responses in a split view. Use it to evaluate model quality, test new models against your current default, or gather preference data across your team.

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Enabling arena mode

  1. Open any chat conversation.
  2. Click the Swords icon in the chat input toolbar. The icon highlights when Arena Mode is active.
  3. Two model dropdowns appear above the input, labeled A and B with vs between them.
  4. Select a model for each side. The dropdowns show all models available to you based on your organization’s governance settings and the active agent’s supported models.
  5. Type a message and send it.
To disable Arena Mode, click the Swords icon again. All arena state (model selections, threads, verdict) is cleared.
Note: Arena Mode requires at least two available models. If only one model is configured, the model selector is hidden and the toggle is disabled.

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Split view

After sending a message, the chat area splits into two columns:
ColumnContent
Left (A)Messages from Model A’s thread
Right (B)Messages from Model B’s thread
Each column has a header showing the model label and name. Both columns scroll independently and support the full set of chat features including approvals, file attachments, and message actions. You can continue sending messages while in Arena Mode. Each new message is sent to both models in parallel.

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Recording a verdict

Once both models have responded, a verdict bar appears below the split view with four options:
VerdictEffect
A is betterRecords Model A as the preferred response
B is betterRecords Model B as the preferred response and makes Thread B the active branch
TieRecords that both responses were equally good
Both badRecords that neither response was satisfactory
Verdicts are stored as feedback with metadata including the verdict choice, Model A ID, and Model B ID. Once recorded, the verdict buttons are disabled for that comparison round.

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How it works

When you send a message in Arena Mode, the platform:
  1. Creates two separate threads (or reuses existing arena threads).
  2. Copies conversation history to both threads if this is the first arena message in an existing conversation.
  3. Sends the same message to both models in parallel. Each model responds in its own thread without seeing the other’s output.
  4. Creates a branch link so Thread B is tracked as a variant of Thread A.
This ensures a fair comparison — neither model is influenced by the other’s response.
Last modified on April 19, 2026