How to Use Claude Cowork: First Tasks for Small Business

Most of us use AI like a very clever colleague we can only talk to one message at a time. You ask, it answers, you ask again. Claude Cowork changes that. Instead of answering one prompt after another, it takes on a whole job, works through the steps itself and hands you back the finished thing: a formatted document, an organised folder, a spreadsheet with working formulas or a piece of research pulled together.

For a small business owner, that's the difference between AI saving you minutes and AI saving you an afternoon. Here's how Cowork works according to Anthropic's help pages, how to start your first task, five jobs I'd hand over first and the safety settings you shouldn't skip.

What is Claude Cowork?

Anthropic describes Cowork as bringing the same agentic set-up that powers Claude Code to knowledge work, with no terminal required. In plain English, you describe the outcome you want, step away, and come back to finished work.

When you give it a task, Anthropic says Claude analyses your request and makes a plan, breaks complex work into smaller tasks, runs code in an isolated environment on Anthropic's servers, coordinates several workstreams at once where that helps, and delivers the finished outputs to your session for you to preview and download.

One change to know about: Anthropic is gradually rolling out a new experience on the Pro and Max plans where Cowork is simply part of Claude. You ask for what you need, and Claude decides whether it's a quick answer or a task. If your message box no longer shows separate Chat and Cowork options, that's why.

Who can use Claude Cowork?

Cowork is available on Anthropic's Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, not on the free plan. Where you can use it depends on the device:

• Claude Desktop for Mac and Windows, on all of those plans.
• The web at claude.ai and the Claude mobile apps, on Pro, Max and Team, and on Enterprise where an admin has switched it on.
• The Claude in Chrome side panel, on Max and Team, rolling out to Pro, and on Enterprise where enabled.

For anything that touches your own computer, such as local files or your browser, you need the desktop app open and connected.

How do you start a Cowork task?

1. Open Claude on the web, in the desktop app or in the mobile app.
2. In the message box, select Cowork.
3. Describe the task you want done.
4. Review Claude's approach, then let it run.

While it works, you'll see progress indicators and the reasoning behind each step, and you can jump in to steer it at any point. On Team and Enterprise plans, sessions run in the cloud in beta, so the work carries on if you close your laptop, and you can check in from another device.

How should you write a Cowork task?

Write it like a brief to a capable freelancer, not a question to a search engine. Say what the finished thing looks like, what to use, and what not to do. Here's the template I'd start with.

Copy this prompt

Task: [what you want done, in one sentence].
Use: [the folder, files or sites to work from].
Finished output: [a Word document / a spreadsheet with formulas / a slide deck / an organised folder], saved as [name].
Must include: [the sections, columns or details you need].
Don't: [delete anything / contact anyone / change the original files].
Before you start, show me your plan and wait for my yes.

Five jobs to hand over to Cowork first

These play to what Anthropic says Cowork is built for, and they're low risk for a first go.

• Tidy a messy folder: rename and sort files into sensible subfolders, and make a list of what's where.
• Turn notes into a document: take your meeting notes and produce a formatted summary with actions and owners.
• Research round-up: pull together what several sources say about a topic into one short report.
• Spreadsheet from scratch: build a tracker with working formulas from a description of what you need.
• First-draft slides: turn a document into a simple presentation you can then polish.

Here's a ready-made version of the first one.

Copy and paste this prompt

Look through the folder [folder name] on my computer.
Suggest a simple folder structure for these files and show it to me before moving anything.
Once I say yes, move the files into it and rename them as [date - client - document type].
Don't delete anything. At the end, give me a list of what went where.

Can Cowork run tasks on a schedule?

Yes. Anthropic says you can create tasks that Claude runs on demand or automatically on a schedule you choose. Type /schedule in any Cowork task, or click Scheduled in the left sidebar to view and manage them. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud, so your computer doesn't need to be on. A weekly summary of what's changed in a shared folder, or a Monday research round-up on your industry, are both good starting points.

Is Claude Cowork safe to use?

Anthropic is upfront that Cowork has its own risks because it acts on your behalf and can use the internet. The settings that matter:

• Deletion protection: Claude asks your explicit permission before permanently deleting any files.
• Approval modes: Manually approve makes Claude ask before actions; Automatically approve lets it carry on while it checks each action for safety; Skip all approvals stops asking altogether.
• Connectors: you choose which connected apps Claude can use from the + menu in the message box.

Anthropic's own advice is that for work with real consequences, such as messages sent as you or important files, you should stay close and review what Claude does, or switch back to Manually approve. I'd go further for a first month: keep it on Manually approve, work on copies, and never let it send anything on your behalf until you've watched it do the job well several times.

Does Cowork remember my other chats?

When Cowork runs in the cloud, it shares memory with your regular chats, so it already knows the context you've built up there, and what comes up in a task carries back. Sessions that run locally on your computer don't use memory. To run a single task without memory, turn Memory off in the + menu before you send the first message. You can also set standing instructions that apply to every Cowork session, covering your tone, preferred formats and role.

Does Cowork use more of my usage?

Yes. Anthropic says multi-step tasks that run code, create files or use your connected apps and browser use more of your usage than a quick question. To stretch it, group related work into one task, start a new conversation for unrelated work, and tell Claude when you only need a quick answer rather than a finished file.

Tools that work with Cowork

Cowork can produce Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and formatted documents that you can keep refining in Claude for Excel and PowerPoint. On desktop it can open sites and fill in forms through its built-in browser, or through Claude in Chrome if you already use it, and plugins bundle skills and connectors for particular roles.

If you're weighing up whether you need an agent like this or simply better prompts, my guide to what an AI consultant does explains where outside help makes sense. And if you'd like your first Cowork workflows set up with you, that's what I do with business owners.

Frequently asked questions

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork lets Claude take on multi-step tasks for you, such as producing formatted documents, organising files or pulling research together, using the same agentic set-up as Claude Code without a terminal.

Which plans include Claude Cowork?

Anthropic says Cowork is available on the Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Availability on web, mobile and the Chrome side panel varies by plan.

How do I start a task in Claude Cowork?

Open Claude, select Cowork in the message box, describe the task, review Claude's plan and let it run. On the new Claude experience, you can simply ask in any conversation.

Will Claude Cowork delete my files?

Anthropic says Claude asks for your explicit permission before permanently deleting any files. You can also keep it on Manually approve so it asks before every action.

Can Claude Cowork run tasks automatically?

Yes. Type /schedule in a Cowork task or use Scheduled in the sidebar. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud, so your computer doesn't need to be on.