# Explore an idea with Discovery mode

> In Discovery mode Plexii leads with questions and options to grow an idea into a desk. Nothing is created until you say so. Switch it on per conversation.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-discovery-mode
Section: Plexii assistant > Let Plexii make changes
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Sometimes you do not have a question, just the start of an idea: a trip, a side business, a renovation, a podcast. In **Discovery** mode Plexii takes the lead. It asks the questions a thoughtful collaborator would ask, offers likely answers you can tap, suggests directions you may not have thought of, and every so often sums up what the idea is becoming. When the picture is clear, it offers to create a desk for it, and nothing is built until you say yes.

## Before you start

- **Every plan** includes Discovery mode.
- **Plexii needs AI to run.** See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits).

## Start a discovery

Either:

- **From your Home dashboard:** click the **Discover** widget. A new conversation opens on the Plexii hub, already in Discovery mode. See [Discover widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-discover).
- **From any conversation:** under the box you type in, click the mode button, which normally reads **Chat**. Choose **Discovery**. A tick marks the mode in use.

The mode menu describes both:

| Mode | What it says |
| --- | --- |
| **Chat** | The everyday assistant: you ask, Plexii answers, researches, and acts. |
| **Discovery** | Plexii leads with questions and options, growing an idea toward a desk. Nothing is created until you say the word. |

## What you will see

- **A Discovery badge** at the top of the conversation. Its tooltip reads **Discovery mode — Plexii is leading with questions toward a desk**.
- **The mode button reads Discovery**, highlighted.
- **On a new conversation**, the greeting reads **What are we building?** with the line **Start anywhere — a question, an idea, a list, a business. I will ask my way through it with you, and we finish with a desk that brings it to life.** The box reads **Start anywhere — an idea, a question, a hunch…**. The usual starters are not shown.

## How a discovery goes

1. **Start anywhere.** Type your idea in your own words, for example "I want to start a weekend market stall selling plants". It can be a question, a list or a few rough notes.
2. **Answer Plexii's questions.** Plexii replies briefly, then asks about your idea. Likely answers appear as choices you can click, and you can always type your own answer instead.
3. **Look at the options.** Plexii also shows directions the idea could take, as cards you can pick or ignore.
4. **Watch the plan take shape.** Every few turns Plexii restates what the desk is becoming: its purpose, its pieces and who it is for.
5. **Say yes to the desk.** When Plexii knows enough, it asks whether to create the desk. Say yes, or click **Create the desk** if it is offered, and Plexii proposes the desk and everything on it as cards. Apply them as you would any cards. See [Turn a conversation into a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-turn-into-desk).

If you say no, Plexii keeps exploring and offers again when the picture has grown.

You can also click **Turn into desk** under the box at any point. Plexii treats that as your yes.

## Nothing is created until you say so

In Discovery mode Plexii does not propose anything that builds, such as a desk, a widget or a table, until you ask it to or accept its offer. Until then it only asks and shows. This keeps the exploring free: you can follow a tangent without cards piling up.

## Use your own material

Discovery builds on what you already have. Point Plexii at an existing desk, document or Brain entry with `@`, or mention your own work in words ("my plant inventory sheet"), and Plexii searches your workspace for it. See [Point Plexii at specific things with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-mentions).

To keep the conversation quick, Plexii does not search your workspace or the web for replies that are only shaping the idea, such as a choice you tapped or "something calm and minimal". The first message, real questions, mentions and references to your own work are searched as usual.

## Switch back to Chat

Click the mode button and choose **Chat**. The conversation carries on as a normal chat.

The mode belongs to the conversation: it is saved with it, and a conversation you come back to is still in the mode you left it in. A new chat always starts in **Chat**.

## Tips

- **Give it a rough seed.** "A podcast about local history" is enough. The questions do the work.
- **Tap, then type.** Click a choice to move quickly, and type when none of them fits.
- **Turn into desk when you are ready.** You do not have to wait for Plexii's offer.

## Common questions

**Plexii keeps asking questions. How do I get the desk?** Say so: "create the desk now", or click **Turn into desk** under the box.

**Why didn't Plexii create anything when I described the desk?** In Discovery mode nothing is built until you say yes. Answer its offer, or ask it to create the desk.

**Can I use web search in Discovery mode?** Yes. The globe works the same way, but replies that only shape the idea skip searching. See [Turn live web search on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-web-search).

**My new chat isn't in Discovery mode.** Each new chat starts in **Chat**. Switch it with the mode button, or start from the **Discover** widget on Home.

## Related tasks

- [Turn a conversation into a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-turn-into-desk)
- [Use the Plexii hub](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-hub)
- [Discover widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-discover)
- [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals)
- [Point Plexii at specific things with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-mentions)