How Do I Switch to a Different AI?
GIF + illustrated guide | For academic users with no technical background | Explains the two situations for switching agents
Want to move from one AI to another (say, from Claude Code to DeepSeek)? There is no "switch button" in Scholardo. Stop looking for one — switching agents comes down to two situations, depending on where you are right now.
First, One Sentence to Remember
Each session is bound to one agent; to switch the one that's running, open a new session.
A session is one "tab" in the terminal on the right. Once you pick Claude Code in a session, that session stays with Claude Code. To use a different AI, open a new session.
Situation 1: You Haven't Started an Agent Yet — You're Staring at an Empty Terminal
If you closed the "Choose an agent" card and are now looking at a blank terminal (you haven't typed any command, and no agent is running) — don't worry, just wait a few seconds:
- After about 4 seconds, a small bar with a ✨ icon slides up from the bottom of the terminal, reading "Choose an agent".
- Click it, and the full agent chooser card comes back — just pick again.
🎬 GIF 1: Wait a few seconds at an empty terminal → the ✨ "Choose an agent" bar slides up from the bottom → click it → the full-screen chooser returns. Voiceover: "No need to hunt for a button — leave it idle for a few seconds and it appears on its own."
💡 This bar only appears when no agent is running and you haven't started typing. Once an agent is already up and running, follow Situation 2 below.
Situation 2: One AI Is Running, and You Want to Switch to Another
Say Claude Code is running and you want to use DeepSeek instead — don't look for a switch inside the current session; open a new session instead:
- Create a new session (a new tab) in the terminal area on the right.
- The new session comes with its own "Choose an agent" card.
- Pick DeepSeek there (as long as you've already set it up in settings — see P0-3).
- The two sessions run side by side: one on Claude Code, one on DeepSeek — switch between the tabs anytime to compare.
🎬 GIF 2: Claude Code is running → create a new session tab → the chooser appears in the new session → pick DeepSeek and start. Voiceover: "To switch the AI that's running, open a new session — it comes with its own chooser card."
Prerequisite: only agents that are enabled and set up in settings appear in the chooser. By default only Claude Code is shown; Codex needs to be enabled in settings (P1-1), and DeepSeek needs its key configured first (P0-3).
Shot List
Record with the current release of Scholardo. Capture one short GIF per situation, highlighting the two key moments: "the bar appears on its own" and "a new session comes with its own chooser."
| Asset | Content | Source | Key callout |
|---|---|---|---|
| GIF 1 | Empty terminal idle for about 4 seconds → the ✨ "Choose an agent" bar appears at the bottom → click → full-screen chooser returns | Scholardo | Circle the bar at the bottom; caption "Wait a few seconds — it appears on its own" |
| GIF 2 | Claude Code running → create a new session tab → new session shows its own chooser → pick DeepSeek | Scholardo | Circle the "new session" entry point and the chooser in the new tab |
| Figure 1 | Mental-model diagram: one session = one agent; multiple sessions side by side | Custom diagram | "To switch the one that's running = open a new session" |
Key Callouts Recap
- There is no switch button: switching agents happens via the pop-up bar or a new session, not a toggle.
- Situation 1 (idle, no agent): after about 4 seconds of idling, the "Choose an agent" bar slides up from the bottom — just click it.
- Situation 2 (an agent is running): open a new session; it comes with its own chooser.
- In one sentence: each session is bound to one agent; to switch the one that's running, open a new session.
Data Privacy Disclosure
Whichever agent you use in whichever session, your manuscript content is sent to the AI provider chosen in that session for processing. Switching to a different engine means that content will instead go to a different provider (for example, from Anthropic to DeepSeek), each handling it under its own privacy policy. If your material involves unpublished data, participant confidentiality, or non-disclosure agreements, please confirm first that sending it to a third-party AI service complies with your institution's requirements.