Using Lookinglass: Your Complete Guide
Everything you need to know about chat, threads, and daily usage
Master the essentials of using Lookinglass—from your first message to organizing conversations and exporting your chat history. This guide covers everything you need to know about the chat interface and thread management.
Getting Started
Your First Launch
When you first open Lookinglass, you'll see two options:
- Sign in with Apple - Recommended for full access to all features, wallet functionality, and cloud sync
- Continue as Guest - Explore the interface and settings without signing in (you won't be able to send messages to AI models)
After signing in or continuing as guest, you'll land in the main chat interface—ready to start your first conversation.
The Chat Interface
Screen Layout
The chat interface is designed to feel familiar—like WhatsApp or iMessage—but with powerful AI controls built in.
- Top Left Button - Opens your thread list to switch between conversations
- Top Right Button - Opens the model picker to switch between 27 AI models
- Your messages and AI responses appear here, organized chronologically
- Live Streaming - Watch responses appear letter-by-letter as the AI generates them (if streaming is enabled in conversation settings)
The Input Bar
Below the message history, you'll find the input bar with four key components:
- Tap to upload images (up to 5 images per message)
- Take photos or choose from your photo library
- Most models support images (except gpt-3.5-turbo, gpt-4, and o3-mini)
- Token counts include accurate image calculations
- Type your message or prompt
- Supports multi-line input for longer messages
- Automatically expands as you type
- Tap to use voice-to-text for hands-free input
- First use requires granting permission for microphone and speech recognition
- Speech recognition happens on-device for privacy
- Paper airplane icon - the typical send button you'd see in any messaging app
- Only becomes active once you've typed text or attached images
- Tap to send your message to the selected AI model
- Becomes a grayed-out Stop button when a message is being sent—tap to cancel anytime
- Message is sent with your current conversation settings
The Cost Bar
Below the input bar (and beneath the send button), Lookinglass displays a transparent cost estimate for every message before you send it. This is one of our core differentiators—you always know the maximum you'll pay, though your actual cost is often lower.
- Input Tokens (Estimate) - Shows how many tokens will be sent to the AI
- Output Tokens (Maximum) - Shows the maximum response length based on your response settings
- Maximum Cost in USD - Always shows worst-case scenario (actual cost often lower), updates in real-time as you type
- Info Icon (ⓘ) - Tap for a detailed breakdown of estimated tokens and costs
- Pricing Icon ($) - Tap to open the full pricing sheet
The Pricing Sheet
View complete pricing details for all 27 AI models at any time. Access the pricing sheet from two locations:
- Model Menu - Tap the model picker (top right), then tap the circle with dollar sign ($) icon
- Cost Bar - Tap the circle with dollar sign ($) icon to the right of the info icon
- OpenAI Base Prices - The original per-token rates from OpenAI
- Lookinglass Prices - What you pay when using models through our app
- Billing Plan Toggle - Switch between Fast & Reliable (standard pricing) and Smart Savings (50% off on 5 select models)
This level of transparency ensures you always know the pricing structure and can choose the billing plan that fits your needs. Learn more about transparent pricing or see typical costs.
Why Your Actual Cost Might Be Lower
The cost bar shows the maximum cost for your message, but your actual cost may be significantly lower thanks to cached input tokens.
- OpenAI stores your recent conversation context on their servers (typically for about 5 minutes)
- When you send a follow-up message quickly, they don't need to resend all the previous conversation
- Instead, they charge only for new tokens plus a much lower rate (up to 10X cheaper!) for cached tokens
- Have active, extended conversations in a single thread
- Reply quickly within the conversation (within 5 minutes when possible)
- The longer your thread and faster your replies, the more you'll save
- Not all models support caching (pro models, chatgpt-4o-latest, and gpt-3.5-turbo don't support it)
- Caching is not guaranteed — it can expire at any time
- You can see when cached tokens were used in the message audit information
Think of it as getting a discount for continuing a conversation rather than starting fresh. Learn more about cached input.
Web Search and Token Costs
When using models that support web search, enabling this feature can significantly increase your input token count.
- Web search typically adds 10,000-25,000 input tokens or more
- The exact amount depends on your question and the model you're using
- Some complex queries can add 50,000+ input tokens
- You can enable or disable web search anytime in conversation settings
- Disable web search when you don't need current information to save on input tokens
- The cost bar shows the estimated token count before you send, so you can see the impact
Web search is perfect for questions requiring up-to-date information, but disabling it when not needed is an effective way to reduce costs. Learn which models support web search.
Switching Models Mid-Conversation
Unlike traditional AI chat apps, Lookinglass lets you switch between any of the 27 models at any time—even mid-conversation.
- Tap the model picker in the top right
- Browse and select a different model
- Continue the conversation with the new model
- The cost bar updates instantly to reflect the new model's pricing
Start with a fast, cost-effective model like gpt-4o-mini, then switch to o3-pro when you need deep reasoning on a specific question. Learn which model to choose.
Interacting with Messages
Long-press any message in the chat history to access message actions. You can also cancel any message (streaming or non-streaming) by tapping the Stop button that appears when a message is being sent.
- Copy the message text to your clipboard
- Paste it anywhere you need
- Use iOS's native share sheet to send the message via Messages, Mail, Notes, etc.
- View detailed audit information for that specific message
- See exact token counts, model used, cost breakdown, and timestamp
- Select the message, then tap Forward
- Multi-select additional messages you want to include
- Choose to either Share or Create New Thread
Perfect for branching off conversations—pick relevant messages and continue in a new thread.
Managing Threads
Threads in Lookinglass work like conversations in your messaging app—each one is a separate chat with its own history, model selection, and settings.
Accessing Your Threads
Tap the top left button in the chat interface to open your thread list. Here you'll see:
- Pinned threads - Appear at the top for quick access
- Recent threads - Sorted by most recently active
- Search - Find threads by name or content
Creating a New Thread
To start a fresh conversation:
- Open the thread list (tap top left button in chat interface)
- Tap the plus (+) button in the top right of the thread view
- Start chatting with a clean slate—no history from previous conversations
Each new thread starts with your default model and settings, which you can customize at any time. Learn about conversation settings.
Organizing Threads
Keep your conversations organized with these thread management features:
- Long-press or swipe on a thread in the list
- Select Rename
- Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Python Project Help" or "Travel Planning")
- Long-press or swipe on a thread
- Select Pin
- Pinned threads stay at the top of your list for instant access
- Long-press or swipe on a thread
- Select Copy
- Duplicate the entire conversation to continue exploring different directions
- Archive single: Swipe or tap Archive on a thread
- Archive multiple: Long press to select multiple threads, then tap Archive
- Archive all: Tap the top-right button (ellipsis menu) and select Archive All
- Archived threads are moved out of your main list but not deleted
- Access archived threads from the Archive view
- In Archive view: unarchive (single/multiple/all) or delete from archive
Deleting Threads
Clean up your thread list by removing conversations you no longer need:
- Long-press or swipe on a thread
- Select Delete
- Confirm deletion (this cannot be undone)
- Open the thread list
- Tap the ellipsis (⋯) button in the top right (to the right of the + icon)
- Select Delete All from the dropdown menu
- Confirm you want to delete all conversations
- Warning: This permanently deletes all threads and cannot be undone
Note for Multi-Device Users: If you have iCloud sync enabled and use Lookinglass on multiple devices, the ellipsis menu also includes a Refresh option to manually sync threads across your devices. Learn more about iCloud sync and privacy.
Searching for Threads
Find specific conversations quickly using the search feature:
- Open the thread list
- Use the search bar at the top
- Search by thread name or message content
- Results update in real-time as you type
Looking for specific threads? Learn how to export your conversation history.
Exporting Conversations
Lookinglass makes it easy to export your conversations for backup, sharing, or analysis. You own your data—take it with you anytime.
Available Export Formats
Export entire threads in your preferred format:
- Clean, readable format perfect for documentation
- Preserves formatting and structure
- Easy to edit and share with others
- Great for integrating into wikis, GitHub, or note-taking apps
- Simple, universal format that works everywhere
- No formatting—just pure conversation content
- Smallest file size
- Perfect for archiving or text analysis
- Structured data format for developers
- Includes metadata (timestamps, model used, token counts)
- Machine-readable for automation or custom processing
- Ideal for building your own analysis tools
How to Export
To export a thread:
- Open the thread list (top left button)
- Long-press or swipe on the thread you want to export
- Select Export
- Choose your format: Markdown, Plaintext, or JSON
- Share or save the file using iOS's share sheet
You can also export your entire transaction history and usage data as CSV files from the wallet section for expense tracking and record-keeping.
Use the Forward feature to select specific messages and either share them or create a new thread with just that subset of your conversation.
Using Voice Input
Lookinglass includes built-in voice-to-text for natural, hands-free interaction with AI models.
First-Time Setup
When you first tap the microphone button, iOS will prompt you to grant two permissions:
- Microphone Access - Required to capture your voice
- Speech Recognition - Required to convert speech to text
These permissions are used only for voice input and all speech recognition happens on-device for your privacy. Lookinglass never records or stores your voice. Learn more about privacy.
Using Voice-to-Text
- Tap the microphone button inside the text input bar on the bottom right
- Speak your message clearly
- Your speech is transcribed in real-time to the text input field
- Tap the send button when ready, or edit the text first
Voice input uses your device's native speech recognition (provided by Apple), so it works in any language your device supports. The Lookinglass interface itself is available in 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian.
Tips for Best Results
- Speak clearly - Enunciate for more accurate transcription
- Minimize background noise - Find a quiet environment when possible
- Review before sending - Check the transcribed text for accuracy
- Edit as needed - You can tap the text field to manually correct any mistakes
Next Steps
Now that you understand the basics of using Lookinglass, explore these topics to get even more from the app:
