If you ask the model to "think" about something, and then it simulates that action and outputs what the result of that might be, does it matter if it's really thinking or not? Especially if the output is what we wanted originally?

I would suggest that a person saying "ask the model to think about" in this context in no way implies that that person is confused about the nature of the model, it is simply a convenient piece of language that helps us to achieve the desired result.