Cowork: Your Desktop Coworker
The clearest example of AI that does the work, not AI that answers questions. Give Cowork a goal and a folder; it plans, asks your approval, then reads, edits and creates files to return a finished deliverable.
How it differs from chat
Can't touch your files. It advises, drafts and explains — then you go and do the multi-step work yourself.
The third mode in the desktop app. It has permission to read, edit and create files in folders you choose, and to operate apps, the browser and connectors — returning finished deliverables, not advice. Local sessions stay on-device.
Human oversight by design: Cowork shows you a plan and waits for approval before acting, and loops you in before anything significant. That approval step is your safety belt — never switch it off for work that touches real files or systems.
Interactive: a Cowork session, step by step
Walk a real multi-step task — and notice where Cowork stops to get your sign-off. You're the supervisor, not the doer.
Where it earns its keep
The time-consuming-but-not-technical work knowledge workers would rather not do:
Research synthesis
Pull a folder of sources into one briefing.
Document prep
Draft, format and assemble deliverables.
File organisation
Sort, rename and tidy a messy folder.
Data scanning
Comb a spreadsheet for what matters.
Availability: all paid plans via the desktop app — included in Pro (~$20/mo), with higher limits on Max. It consumes limits faster than chat. You can send tasks from your phone (Dispatch), but Cowork runs on the desktop and the computer must be awake with the app open.
Key takeaway
Cowork is delegation. Give it the outcome and a folder, approve the plan, review the result. The skill is no longer prompting — it's scoping and supervising.