Claude Cowork Guide

In the chat you ask, Claude answers, you read and follow up. In Cowork you hand over a task: Claude plans, works through several steps on its own and delivers a finished result, such as an Excel file with working formulas, a PowerPoint presentation, a formatted document, a tidied-up folder or a report drawn from several sources.

1.1 Chat or task?

Rule of thumb: if you would need several work steps yourself and files should exist at the end, it is a task. If you want an answer, stay in the chat.

1.2 One message box for both

Since September 16, 2026, chat and Cowork have been merged. The change is rolling out gradually, starting with Pro and Max. You simply describe what you need, and Claude decides whether a short answer is enough or whether it becomes a task. The new interface no longer has a separate Cowork switch. According to the Help Center, Enterprise organizations get at least 30 days' notice.

1.3 Where Cowork comes from

Cowork uses the same technology as Claude Code, the tool for software development, just without the command line. In everyday business work you do not need Claude Code. It does help to know why Cowork handles files so confidently: it works like a development environment, only for office work.

Cowork tasks run in an isolated environment on Anthropic's servers. Sessions and files are saved to your Claude account. That has a pleasant consequence: you can close your laptop and the task keeps running.

2.1 Cloud by default

• You start a task on your computer, check on your phone while out whether a question has come in, and later download the result on your computer.
• What Claude knows from your chats is available in cloud tasks too, and vice versa. Locally run sessions are not connected to memory.
• From October 6, 2026, new tasks on Pro and Max run entirely in the cloud according to the Help Center. Local tasks already running stay local until they finish.

2.2 When you need the desktop app

Even when the session runs in the cloud, four things need the Claude desktop app (macOS or Windows) to be open:

The most common mistake: writing a task like a prompt. In the chat you can refine, but with a task Claude starts running first. So more belongs up front.

3.1 The four building blocks

Almost everyone leaves out the completion criterion, and it makes the biggest difference. Also tell Claude what should happen if material is missing: ask or carry on without it.

3.2 Template to copy

Goal: [What should exist at the end, e.g. a decision paper for management]

Material: [Files, folders, connectors, e.g. the attached quotes and the folder “Purchasing / Framework contracts” in Google Drive]

Output format:
1. [File 1, e.g. Excel with formulas, one sheet per supplier]
2. [File 2, e.g. presentation with six slides: situation, comparison, cost impact, risks, recommendation, next steps]
3. [File 3, e.g. text of one page at most, recommendation first]

Boundaries: Every figure with a source (file and location). Flag missing information as a gap, do not estimate. Do not send or delete anything. If material is missing, ask.

The task is done when [e.g. all three files exist, the figures match and at least two options with pros and cons are listed].

3.3 While the task is running

Claude first creates a plan. In the progress area you see the steps listed and which one is running. You can watch, walk away or step in at any time, for example: “Quick interruption: calculate with an annual volume of 40,000 units, not the total from the history.” Claude corrects and carries on.

3.4 Checking the result

1. One figure you know: if it is right, the calculation is usually right too. If it is wrong, check everything.
2. The assumptions: which price tier, which period, what happened with missing data? This is in the plan and the intermediate steps.
3. Completeness: is everything there, in the form you wanted? Six slides quickly become four.

Cowork can do things, not just write. That is why you decide when Claude asks first.

4.1 The three modes

4.2 Fixed safeguards

• Before Claude permanently deletes files, you always have to agree explicitly, regardless of mode.
• The per-tool permissions from connectors (Always allow, Needs approval, Blocked) also apply in tasks.
• In Team and Enterprise, admins can restrict write-capable connector tools or require approval.
• Deleted tasks disappear from history immediately and, according to the Help Center, are removed from storage systems within 30 days.

4.3 Keeping an eye on usage

A task uses much more of your usage limit than a chat question. Four levers help: bundle related work into one task instead of five. Start fresh for a new topic. Say when a short answer is enough. And check Settings → Usage now and then.

Whatever you need the same way every week, you set up as a scheduled task. Scheduled tasks are available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise). They are generally available in the desktop app and in beta on web and mobile.

5.1 Creating one

1. Open Scheduled in the sidebar and choose New task.
2. Create with Claude: Claude asks clarifying questions and proposes the task for confirmation. Or Set up manually: enter name, task description, approval mode, frequency and optionally model and folder yourself.
3. Alternatively, type /schedule in the conversation, or in the new interface simply describe what should happen regularly.

5.2 Frequency and execution

• Frequencies: hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays or manual only.
• Scheduled tasks run in the cloud. Your computer does not need to be on or awake.
• If a task needs local files or programs, it only runs locally. Scheduled cloud tasks work with files in your Claude account, not with folders on your computer.
• Scheduled tasks use the same connectors, skills and plugins as regular tasks.

5.3 Managing

On the scheduled tasks page you see all tasks with their run history. You can change description and frequency, pause, resume, delete or start a task manually right away. In the settings you can get notified when a task finishes or has a question.

Every Monday at 8 am: read the latest export file in the Google Drive folder “Sales / Weekly figures” and create an Excel overview with revenue, order intake and open quotes per region compared to the previous week. Add five sentences of commentary: what stands out, what has got worse, what I should ask about. Save the result in the folder “Sales / Weekly reports”. Send nothing. If the export file is missing, report that instead of calculating.

A task shows its full strength when Claude can reach your sources and knows your way of working.

6.1 How they work together

• Name the skill in the task if you want to be sure it is used: “Use the skill entscheidungsvorlage-geschaeftsfuehrung.”
• Switch on only the connectors the task needs. Fewer sources mean fewer detours.
• Keep write-capable connector tools on “Needs approval” as long as you do not yet trust a task.
• Built-in skills for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF are used automatically when Claude creates such files. Code execution and file creation must be enabled.

How to set up and secure connectors is covered in the Claude Connectors Guide. Project templates with matching skills and connectors are in the Claude Project Library.

Eight tasks that have proven themselves in mid-sized companies. The examples are set at the fictional Nordlicht Logistik GmbH. Replace names, folders and files with your own.

7.1 Purchasing: compare quotes and build a decision paper

Quote, framework contract, order history and meeting notes become Excel, slides and a one-page paper.

I am team lead for purchasing at Nordlicht Logistik GmbH. Material: the new quote from Wellpapp Feddersen KG, our framework contract with the same supplier, the order history of the last twelve months and the meeting transcript from September 8 (all attached).
Result: 1. Excel with annual volume, costs under the old contract, under the new quote and under the verbally discussed terms, with formulas. 2. Presentation with six slides: situation, changes, cost impact, negotiation status, recommendation, next steps. 3. Decision paper, one page at most, recommendation first.
Rules: Prices always as stated in the document. Every figure with a source. Flag gaps instead of estimating. No superlatives.
Done when all three files exist, the figures match and at least two options with pros and cons are listed.

7.2 Administration: tidy up the file storage

Classic tedious work across many files. Needs the desktop app if the folder is on your computer.

The connected folder “Delivery notes 2026” holds about 50 files with inconsistent names. Rename all of them using the pattern YYYY-MM-DD_Supplier_DocumentNumber and sort them into subfolders per month. Also create an Excel list with old name, new name and location. Delete nothing. Put files where date or supplier is unclear into a subfolder “Check”. Done when every file appears exactly once in the list.

7.3 Finance: summarize travel expense receipts

Many individual receipts become one structured expense report.

Attached are 23 receipts from my business trip to Rotterdam (photos and PDFs). Create an Excel expense report with date, category (travel, hotel, meals, other), gross amount, tax rate and receipt number, plus totals per category. Mark illegible or duplicate receipts in yellow with a comment instead of guessing values. Done when all 23 receipts are assigned to a row and the total is correct.

7.4 Sales: weekly report as a scheduled task

Runs automatically every Monday, even when the computer is off. Template see chapter 5.

7.5 Marketing: market research with report and slides

Research plus creating several documents, with sources.

Research which requirements mid-sized online retailers in the Netherlands and Belgium have for logistics partners in 2026 (delivery time, returns, sustainability, prices). Use publicly available sources and give each source with link and date. Result: a report of three to four pages and a presentation with eight slides for our sales meeting. Mark statements that rely on a single source only. Done when every key statement in the report has at least one source.

7.6 Management: prepare a meeting from inbox and calendar

With the connectors for Outlook or Gmail and calendar.

On Thursday I am meeting the management of Hafenspedition Brandt. Search my inbox and calendar for the last six months for everything about Brandt: open points, commitments, complaints, price discussions. Create a one-page briefing with background, open topics, our goals for the meeting and three questions I should ask. Give the email or meeting as the source for each point. Send nothing, change no appointments.

7.7 HR: put together an onboarding pack

Scattered documents become one consistent pack. Personal data stays out.

From the documents in the folder “HR / Onboarding warehouse”, put together an onboarding pack for new warehouse staff: a Word document with welcome, schedule for the first week, safety rules, contacts by function (no names) and a checklist for the first day. Add a presentation with five slides for the introduction session. List contradictions between the documents at the end instead of resolving them yourself.

7.8 Controlling: comment on monthly variances

Calculate, check, explain, in one run.

Attached are plan and actuals for September as Excel. Create a new Excel file with absolute and percentage variance per cost center, with formulas, and highlight all variances above 10 percent. Write a half-page commentary: the five largest variances, possible causes according to the data and open questions for the cost center owners. Do not invent causes that do not follow from the data. Done when the plan and actual totals match the source file.

8.1 What Cowork cannot do

• Without the desktop app open, Claude cannot reach files on your computer or your browser.
• Scheduled cloud tasks do not work with folders on your computer.
• Cowork does not replace your judgment. It carries out steps, it does not take responsibility.

8.2 Specific risks

Because Cowork acts on its own and can access the internet, it carries its own risks. The biggest is prompt injection: hidden instructions in a file, an email or a web page meant to make Claude take unwanted actions. Countermeasures: manual mode for anything with consequences, write tools on “Needs approval”, trusted sources only. Also note: according to the Help Center, network access restrictions do not apply to web search, web fetch and MCP connectors.

8.3 Data protection rules for tasks

1. Use Team or Enterprise for company data. Content is not used for training there, and a data processing agreement is standard.
2. Attach or connect only the material the task needs.
3. No sensitive HR data, health data or applications without approval from data protection and IT.
4. Do not let anything be sent automatically that you have not read.
5. Check results before passing them on: one figure, the assumptions, completeness.

Cowork is only available on paid plans. Status October 5, 2026 according to the Help Center:

Web, mobile and scheduled tasks outside the desktop app are labelled beta. In Team and Enterprise, admins enable Cowork in the organization settings. Plugin marketplaces require Cowork and Skills to be enabled.

Keep learning: Get started with Claude Cowork in the Help Center and the courses of the Anthropic Academy.