# Core Concepts

A Treasure AI Studio session is shaped by four building blocks: **work folders** carry your standing context, **model tiers** trade speed against reasoning depth, **credits** meter what each interaction costs, and the **context window** governs how much of a conversation the AI can hold at once. Understanding these four concepts is what lets you guide a session toward faster, cheaper, and more predictable results.

Note
The AI selects its own tools and manages its own context within a session. Understanding these concepts lets you guide its decisions — it does not replace them.

## Prerequisites

- Signed in to Treasure AI Studio ([Getting Started](/products/ai-studio/getting-started))
- AI Credits provisioned for your account


## Work Folders

A **work folder** groups related chats and their files, and gives the AI a set of standing instructions that apply to every conversation started inside it. Instead of re-explaining your conventions in each new chat — which database to use, how to format output — you write them once in the work folder, and the AI follows them automatically. Each work folder also keeps its own shared file space, so the files produced across many conversations accumulate in one place — and every chat can reach the files in all of your work folders, not just its own.

**Example:** A "CDP Ops" work folder might have the instruction: "Always validate YAML before pushing. Use the `marketing` database by default. Format SQL with CTEs."

One of your work folders is your **default**: new chats are saved there unless you choose a different destination. Studio sets one up for you, named **General**.

Treasure AI Studio sidebar showing New Chat, Skills, Work Folders, and Chats sections
For the full picture — the default work folder, where each new chat is saved, and how work folders appear in the sidebar on each platform — see [Work Folders](/products/ai-studio/concepts/work-folders).

## AI Model Tiers

Treasure AI Studio offers three model tiers. Each maps to a specific Claude model and trades speed and credit cost against reasoning depth. The **Balanced** tier is the default for new conversations.

| Tier | Model | Description (shown in the UI) | When to Use |
|  --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Pro** | Claude Opus | "Complex reasoning and analysis" | Multi-step data analysis, building segment rules, writing workflows |
| **Balanced** | Claude Sonnet | "Fast and capable" | General-purpose work — the default for new conversations |
| **Fast** | Claude Haiku | "Quick tasks and simple questions" | Quick lookups, simple questions, conserving credits |


You can switch tiers at any point in a conversation — start with **Fast** for quick exploration, then switch to **Pro** for the complex part. The new tier applies to your next message; your conversation history is preserved. To set which tier new chats start with, use the **Default Model** option in [Settings](/products/ai-studio/settings).

Regional availability
In the Korea (ap02) region, only the **Balanced** tier is available — **Pro** and **Fast** are not. All three tiers are available in the US, Tokyo, and EU01 regions.

### Web & Desktop

Click the model selector in the chat input area to switch tiers. The current tier (for example, "Balanced") is shown on the selector.

Model selector dropdown showing Pro, Balanced, and Fast options
### Mobile (iOS)

Tap the model label in the chat input area to switch between available tiers. When only one tier is available for your region, the model is fixed.

Pro Tip
Use **Fast** for simple lookups like "list my databases" or "how many rows in this table?" — it answers in seconds and uses far fewer credits. Reserve **Pro** for multi-step analysis, complex segment logic, and workflow generation.

## AI Credits

Every AI interaction consumes credits. The amount depends on which model tier you use and how much the AI processes — longer conversations and tool-heavy sessions cost more. Higher tiers cost more per interaction.

| Model Tier | Relative Cost |
|  --- | --- |
| **Pro** | Highest |
| **Balanced** | Medium |
| **Fast** | Lowest |


Administrators can monitor consumption and cap per-user daily spend. See [Credit Usage](/products/ai-studio/credits/credit-usage) for the usage dashboard and [Credit Policy](/products/ai-studio/credits/credit-policy) for daily limits. To check or increase your account's credit allocation, contact your Customer Success Manager.

## Context Window and Memory

The **context window** is how much of a conversation the AI can hold at once. Within a single conversation, the AI remembers everything discussed — questions asked, data explored, decisions made — so you can build on earlier messages naturally: "Now filter that to just the US region" or "Add those users to the segment we defined earlier."

As a conversation grows, it eventually approaches the model's context limit. Studio handles this automatically with **auto-compact**: it summarizes older messages to free space while preserving recent context and key facts, and the conversation continues without interruption. There is nothing you need to do.

In-session memory does not carry across separate conversations. To carry context across chats, use a [work folder](#work-folders) rather than pushing a single conversation to its limit. For the full picture of how compaction and memory work, see [In-Session Memory](/products/ai-studio/chat/in-session-memory).

## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution |
|  --- | --- |
| Cannot create a new work folder | Verify you have an active Treasure AI account with AI Studio access. On Mobile, work folders (Projects) are created on Web or Desktop |
| Model selector not visible | The selector appears in the chat input area. In regions with a single available tier (Korea), the tier is fixed and no selector is shown |


## Next Steps

- [Work Folders](/products/ai-studio/concepts/work-folders) — The default work folder, where new chats are saved, and folder settings
- [Custom Instructions](/products/ai-studio/custom-instructions) — Organization-wide guidance applied on top of work folder instructions
- [Organizing Files in a Work Folder](/products/ai-studio/files/file-upload-download#organizing-files-in-a-work-folder) — Browse and organize a folder's files
- [Agent Orchestrator](/products/ai-studio/concepts/orchestrator) — How Studio plans, selects tools, and executes your requests
- [Getting Started](/products/ai-studio/getting-started) — Set up Studio on your platform
- [Supported Skills Catalog](/products/ai-studio/skills/skills-catalog) — Browse available AI skills
- [Security Overview](/products/ai-studio/security) — Configure permissions and security settings