Claude Cowork - How to Get Started

Overview:

This session is for people who have used Claude in chat and are ready to take the next step into agentic work. We start with what Cowork actually is, how it differs from regular chat, and where it fits in the wider Claude product family alongside the desktop app, the web, mobile, and the developer-focused Claude Code. We then walk through the setup live: installing Claude Desktop, choosing the folders Cowork is allowed to read and write in, and connecting the first connectors - Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and the others your real work touches. We run the first real task end to end: describing an outcome, watching Claude propose a plan, approving the plan, and seeing it work through the steps with checkpoints when it needs us. We cover the safety model that matters most - Cowork asks before consequential actions, you can redirect at any step, and you choose what it can touch. We try a handful of practical first use cases: organising a messy Downloads folder, turning a stack of source documents into a structured report, drafting a weekly digest from your inbox. We close with the operational basics: scheduled tasks for recurring work, Dispatch for handing off from your phone, and the early signs that you are using it well. You leave with Cowork installed, your first real task delivered, and a plan for the next ones.

Why you should Attend:

There is a growing gap inside organisations that nobody talks about openly. On one side, the people who still treat AI as a chat tool - they ask questions and copy answers. On the other side, the people who have started to delegate. They give Claude a folder, describe an outcome, and walk away. They come back to a finished deliverable. Claude Cowork is the tool that makes this real for non-developers. It runs on your desktop, reads and writes the actual files in folders you choose, and works through multi-step tasks while keeping you in the loop on anything consequential. It is the same agentic muscle that powered Claude Code into ubiquity in engineering teams, now wrapped for the rest of us. The people who get fluent with this in the next few months will not be working harder than their colleagues. They will be working with help. This session is the practical starting line.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• What Claude Cowork is, and how it differs from regular Claude chat
• Where Cowork fits alongside the desktop app, web, mobile, and Claude Code
• Installing Claude Desktop and granting folder access safely
• Connecting your first connectors: Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and more
• Your first task: describe outcome, approve plan, review result
• How Cowork keeps you in control: approvals, checkpoints, and redirects
• Practical first use cases: file organisation, report drafting, inbox digests
• Scheduled tasks for recurring work that runs without you
• Dispatch: starting a task from your phone, finishing on your desktop
• The early habits that separate confident users from frustrated ones

Who Will Benefit:

• Knowledge Workers - ready to delegate tasks rather than just chat
• Existing Claude Users - moving from chat to agentic work
• Operations & Analysis Roles - buried in repeatable, file-heavy tasks
• Managers & Team Leads - evaluating Cowork for their teams
• IT Pros & Champions - preparing the organisation for desktop AI agents