# Smart Routing

Smart Routing is an intelligent model selector that automatically chooses the best language model for each request, using only organization-approved models. It looks at your prompt, available models, and organization rules to balance response quality, speed, and cost - without you having to pick a model manually every time.

You can think of it as an “auto” mode for model selection: you focus on the task, Smart Routing picks the model.

***

### How to use Smart Routing

Smart Routing can be selected directly from the model picker in Chat, just like any other model.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Start a new chat

1. Click **New chat** on the left side of the screen.
2. A new chat window will open, with a model picker at the top.
   {% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Select Smart Routing

1. Click the **model quick menu** at the bottom-right of Chat.
2. Choose **Auto** from the list.
3. Once selected, Smart Routing will automatically pick the best underlying model for each message in this chat.

You can switch back to a specific model anytime by reopening the model menu and choosing a different model.

<figure><img src="/files/bbjA2D6CUuAT48BsRb75" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Start chatting

1. Type your prompt in the message box.
2. (Optional) Turn on tools such as web search or integrations if available in your workspace. Smart Routing will pick models that offer the capabilities you have selected.
3. Click **Send**.

Smart Routing will choose the model and return a response. From your perspective, it behaves like any other model - the selection happens behind the scenes.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

***

### When to use Smart Routing vs a specific model

**Use Smart Routing when:**

* You don’t want to think about which model is best for each task.

**Use a specific model when:**

* You must always use a given vendor/model for compliance or contractual reasons
* You are benchmarking or comparing outputs across models (for example, using the “Compare models” feature in Chat)
* A workflow is tuned around the behavior of a particular model

In all other cases, Smart Routing is a safe default that keeps model selection efficient and transparent for everyday users.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.nexos.ai/workspace/chat/smart-routing.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.