Users open Kagi Assistant, enter a text or voice prompt, select an available model, and optionally enable web access. They can add files or webpage URLs as context, continue the conversation, change settings or models, and then save, export, organize, or share the resulting thread.
What Kagi Assistant Is
Kagi Assistant is a web and mobile AI assistant from Kagi. A user can start a conversation, select an available model from supported providers, and decide whether the response should use Kagi Search for current web context. This makes it useful for research, writing, coding help, document analysis, and questions where the distinction between model-generated knowledge and retrieved web information matters.
It is not primarily an automation platform or a developer API. Instead, it is a user-facing workspace for asking questions, comparing model responses, adding files or webpages as context, and organizing the resulting conversation threads. It occupies a middle ground between a general-purpose chatbot and a search-focused research tool such as Perplexity.
How People Use It
A typical workflow starts with a text or voice prompt. The user can choose a model, enable or disable web access, apply Kagi Search lenses, and add supporting material such as a PDF, spreadsheet, image, audio file, or webpage URL. The conversation can then be continued with follow-up questions, and the model can be changed during the thread when a different response style or capability is useful.
For research, Kagi Assistant can retrieve web-based context and help synthesize information into a summary or analysis. Users can also create custom assistants with their own instructions, model preferences, and search settings. This is useful for recurring activities such as reviewing documents, drafting content, or applying a consistent research format, although the product does not provide the broader workflow automation features found in dedicated agent platforms.
Core Capabilities
Model selection and switching
Kagi Assistant provides access to models from multiple providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Meta. The exact model list depends on the current service configuration and subscription plan. Users can select an available model and switch models within a conversation, which is more flexible than a single-model assistant.
Search-grounded conversations
Web access is optional rather than permanently enabled. When it is turned on, Kagi Search supplies web context, and users can use search lenses or personalized results where supported. This allows the assistant to work with online information while retaining more control over when search is used. As with other retrieval-assisted systems, users should still check important claims against the cited or retrieved sources.
Files and webpage analysis
The assistant accepts a broad set of uploads, including text files, PDFs, DOCX and PPTX documents, CSV and spreadsheet formats, JSON files, images, and many audio formats. The documented upload limit is 30 MB per file. Kagi Assistant can also fetch webpages and online documents up to 50 MB when web access is enabled. These features make it suitable for asking questions about source material rather than relying only on a short prompt.
Custom assistants and research modes
Custom assistants let users define instructions, choose model settings, and configure search behavior for recurring tasks. Research-oriented modes are intended for gathering and synthesizing information from online sources. These capabilities are more substantial than simple chat history, but they do not turn Kagi Assistant into an autonomous business-process system: there is no verified scheduled automation, computer control, or general workflow orchestration.
Thread management and voice input
Conversations can be searched, renamed, pinned, organized into folders, exported, shared through links, or deleted. Export is available in Markdown or JSON. Voice input is supported in applicable versions of the service, but the product's main output remains text, including research summaries, analysis, code, and translated text.
Privacy and Data Handling
Privacy is a central reason to consider Kagi Assistant. Kagi states that Assistant conversations are not used to train AI models and that account information is not shared with the underlying model providers. Kagi also states that it proxies connections and data through its own servers when third-party models are used.
By default, Assistant threads are deleted after 24 hours of inactivity. Users can change the setting to retain threads permanently, and the retention choice applies when a thread is created. This is an important practical consideration for anyone using the service for ongoing research or reference material: permanent retention must be configured rather than assumed.
Pricing and Access
Kagi Assistant is tied to Kagi membership rather than being offered as a separate standalone free chatbot. The current individual entry option is advertised at $5 per month when billed monthly. Kagi also advertises a Starter plan at $54 per year, equivalent to $4.50 per month when paid annually.
There is no continuing free plan verified in the supplied pricing information, although Kagi offers a limited trial with 100 searches and 100 Assistant interactions. Usage allowances, access to premium models, and advanced modes such as Research depend on the Kagi plan. Kagi displays reminders as users approach applicable limits, so the practical value of the service depends partly on how often the user searches and which models they need.
Who Kagi Assistant Is For
Kagi Assistant is a good fit for people who want one subscription for multi-model conversations, private search, and file-based research. It is particularly relevant to researchers, writers, students, programmers, and professionals who regularly compare model outputs or want web context without using an advertising-funded search experience.
It is less suitable for someone seeking a standalone AI API, an embedded chatbot, scheduled business workflows, browser or computer automation, enterprise administration, or meeting transcription. Users who need a single tightly integrated model may also find model availability and plan-based limits more complicated than a conventional single-provider assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude.
Important Limitations
- Access requires a paid Kagi membership after the limited trial.
- Model availability, premium access, and usage allowances vary by plan and can change over time.
- There is no verified standalone Assistant API, embedding option, or bring-your-own-key workflow.
- The product does not provide scheduled automation, computer actions, webhooks, or a general-purpose workflow builder.
- Privacy depends on trusting Kagi's handling of conversations and its proxy relationship with third-party model providers.
- Search-grounded answers and file analysis can still require user verification, particularly for important or source-sensitive work.
Overall Assessment
Kagi Assistant is best understood as a privacy-focused, multi-model research assistant built around Kagi Search. Its strongest distinction is the combination of model choice, optional web retrieval, file analysis, custom assistants, and configurable retention in a single consumer subscription. It is a practical option for people who move between search and conversational analysis, but it is not intended to replace an AI API, an enterprise knowledge platform, or an automation system.
Kagi Assistant is a private, multi-model AI assistant that combines optional Kagi Search grounding with file analysis, custom assistants, research features, and configurable conversation retention.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Kagi Assistant cost, and who is it best for?
Kagi Assistant is included with a paid Kagi membership. The advertised individual entry option is $5 per month when billed monthly, while the Starter plan costs $54 per year, equivalent to $4.50 per month. Kagi also offers a limited trial with 100 searches and 100 Assistant interactions. It is best suited to researchers, writers, students, programmers, and professionals who want multi-model conversations, private search, and file-based research rather than an API or workflow automation platform.
How does Kagi Assistant handle privacy and conversation retention?
Kagi states that Assistant conversations are not used to train AI models and that account information is not shared with underlying model providers. Kagi proxies connections and data through its own servers when third-party models are used. By default, threads are deleted after 24 hours of inactivity, but users can choose permanent retention when creating a thread.
Does Kagi Assistant use web search and analyze uploaded files?
Yes. Web access is optional, and when enabled, Kagi Search supplies context that can be refined with search lenses or personalized results where supported. Users can also upload files such as PDFs, DOCX and PPTX documents, spreadsheets, images, audio, and JSON files. The documented upload limit is 30 MB per file, while webpages and online documents can be fetched up to 50 MB when web access is enabled.
What is Kagi Assistant?
Kagi Assistant is a privacy-focused, multi-model AI assistant from Kagi. It lets users choose among supported AI models, optionally use Kagi Search for current web context, analyze files and webpages, and organize conversations for research, writing, coding, and document analysis.
Which AI models does Kagi Assistant support?
Kagi Assistant provides access to models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Meta. The available models and premium access depend on the current Kagi configuration and the user's subscription plan, and models can be switched within a conversation.