The AI chat panel in Cursor consistently opens the “old” chat window version (with legacy UI elements like “Plan, search, build anything” tabs) instead of the preferred “new” version (with modern UI like “Agent” and “Auto” modes). Shortcuts and the Toggle AI Pane button reinforce this behavior. Users can manually swap to the new version via dragging and hiding, but this layout change does not persist after closing and reopening the window.
Steps to Reproduce
Open Cursor and ensure the AI chat panel is visible (e.g., via shortcut or top-right Toggle AI Pane button).
Observe the default chat window on the right side: It loads the “old” version, showing tabs like “Plan, search, build anything” and a secondary sidebar.
Attempt to open the AI chat using:
Keyboard shortcut (e.g., Cmd/Ctrl + ` or equivalent).
Top-right “Toggle AI Pane” button.
Note that both actions load the old chat window.
To access the new version:
Drag the old chat window panel to the left side of the editor.
This triggers the new chat window to appear in the original right position (with “Agent < Auto” dropdown and modern layout).
Right-click the old panel (now on the left) and select an option to hide its sidebar/bar.
Drag the new panel back to the preferred right position.
Verify the new layout works as expected.
Close the Cursor window entirely.
Reopen Cursor and toggle the AI chat panel (via shortcut or button).
Observe that it reverts to the old version.
Expected Behavior
The AI chat panel should respect the user’s preferred version (new or old) and persist that layout across sessions, window closes/reopens, and restarts.
Shortcuts and Toggle AI Pane should open the user’s selected default version without manual intervention.
Dragging/hiding panels should save the customized layout permanently.
Screenshots / Screen Recordings
Operating System
Windows 10/11
Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)
I don’t think there’s a new and old version here. What opens up is the default version itself. As I can see from your video, all the chat windows are the same with the Agent mode and Auto mode options available.
Could you clarify what specific differences you’re seeing between what you’re calling the “old” and “new” versions? They appear to be the same chat interface.
Thanks for the follow-up—sorry for any confusion in my initial description! You’re right that the core chat interfaces themselves are identical (both have the Agent/Auto modes, etc.). The main distinction I’m seeing (and preferring) is in the panel behavior/layout:
Left panel (primary sidebar, what I want as default): This supports a floating/detached window mode for individual AI chats/panels (like a browser tabs). Super handy for switching between conversations. It feels more flexible for multi-threaded workflows.
Right panel (secondary sidebar, the current default): This sticks to an inline, non-floatable layout in the sidebar. No tabbed floating option here, so everything stays embedded and single-threaded, which works for quick stuff but isn’t as easy to multitask with.
My coworker doesn’t have the right one he has the left one as default and we both have the same versions and same cursor settings, so i don’t know why?
This image from his computer as you can see he can open 2 chats side by side and easily switch between them but i can’t do this with the right one.
