Sometimes you need a genius. Sometimes you just need an answer now. Claude's new fast mode gets it. ⚡

Anthropic quietly rolled out a speed mode that sacrifices some reasoning depth for instant responses. Ask it to summarize an email? Boom — done before you finish blinking. Need a quick code snippet? There it is. Complex philosophical debate? Maybe switch back to normal mode.

The speed trade-off:

  • ⚡ Fast mode: Quick answers, basic tasks, high volume
  • 🧠 Normal mode: Deep reasoning, complex problems, quality over speed

This is actually huge for productivity. Most AI interactions are simple: 'Rewrite this paragraph,' 'Explain this error,' 'Draft a response.' You don't need a PhD-level analysis — you need it done before you lose your train of thought.

For Gen Z, this is just expected. We grew up with instant everything. TikTok loads in milliseconds. Texts send instantly. Why should AI be any different? The race isn't just about who's smartest anymore — it's about who can be smart fast enough.

Expect every AI to follow this two-mode approach. The tortoise and the hare, but both are geniuses.