Hi, there!
Welcome to the 5th edition of Work in Beta.
In this edition, we urge you to build a system of records for your most used prompts and build your own Prompt Library. We have done this and see the merits in it and give you a step-by-step journey of building a similar one.
We are also hosting our first ever AI WORKSHOP for non-technical professionals later this month on 21st February and would love to have you join. The details are below in this email.
So, let’s dive in!
IF YOU ONLY HAVE 2 MINUTES
THE ‘HOW TO’ PLAYBOOK
Claude Cowork: What It Can Do for You
A lot of our day to day work is to synthesise scattered documents, produce deliverables from messy inputs, and keep projects organized.
Claude Cowork is built for exactly that. It's an AI Agent inside the Claude Desktop app that can read your local files, organize folders, build spreadsheets, draft reports, and deliver finished outputs - all without you uploading a single file to a chat window.
You describe the outcome. Cowork plans the steps, executes them, and hands you back the work. It's currently in research preview on all paid Claude plans, available on macOS and Windows.
The best way to understand what Cowork in action looks like is to see it.
Three Workflows That Show How Powerful Cowork Actually Is
Here are three workflows we ran in Cowork - each one takes a work headache and shows how Cowork handles it end to end in a fraction of time and effort.
Workflow 1: Organizing a Messy Project Folder
The scenario: 40+ files in a project folder. PDFs, screenshots, docs, spreadsheets. No naming convention, no structure. You know the kind - every knowledge worker has at least 3 folders like this right now.
The prompt we used:
Scan every file in this folder. Classify each by type and topic.
Create subfolders by category. Move files into the right subfolders.
Rename all files with this convention: YYYY-MM-DD_category_description.
Generate an INDEX.md listing every file with its new location and a 1-line description.
Show me the plan before making any changes. Do not delete anything.What happens: Cowork reads every file - not just the names, the actual contents. It proposes a folder structure based on what's in the files. You review the plan. You approve. It executes. Every file gets renamed, moved, and logged.
Organizing a messy folder | Image Credits: Work in Beta
Why start here: Low stakes, immediately visual, and it shows the plan-then-execute flow that defines how Cowork works. You're not chatting. You're delegating.
Workflow 2: Analysing Content Across Multiple Files
The scenario: We had 60 LinkedIn post drafts saved as individual files. We wanted to know: what topics have we covered? What's missing? Are we repeating ourselves?
The prompt we used:
Read all files in this folder. For each file, identify: topic, key argument, target audience, and word count.
Then produce a single Word doc with:
1. A topic frequency table (topic, count, file names)
2. A gap analysis: what topics are missing based on patterns you see?
3. A list of posts that overlap significantly in argument or angle
Save the report as content-analysis.docx in this folder.What happens: Cowork reads all 60 files, identifies patterns across them, and produces a single synthesized report. One command, 18 inputs, 1 structured output.
Analysing content across multiple files | Image Credits: Work in Beta
Why this matters: This is the many-inputs-to-one-output capability - Cowork's real differentiator over chat. In chat, you'd paste documents one at a time. Here, Cowork reads everything in the folder and works across all of it.
Workflow 3: Leveraging Context spread across Local + Cloud Systems
The scenario: Project context split across two places - shared brief and reference material in Google Drive, our notes and rough data locally. Normally, that's 5 open tabs and 30 minutes of stitching.
The prompt we used:
Connect to Google Drive. Find all docs related to [Project Name].
Combine those with the local files in this folder.
Synthesize everything into a single project brief (Word doc) with:
- Key findings from all sources
- Open questions that still need answers
- Recommended next steps
Save as project-brief.docx in this folder.What happens: Cowork pulls from Google Drive via its connector, cross-references with local files, and delivers one coherent document. No tab-switching. No copy-pasting between cloud and desktop.
Leveraging context spread across cloud and local system | Image Credits: Work in Beta
Why this is the "aha" moment: Work lives in multiple places. Cowork brings it together without you playing middleman.
What Else Can You Do With It
Those three workflows scratch the surface. Here's how you can use Cowork elsewhere:
Documents and summaries: Drop contracts, RFPs, or reports into a folder. Get summaries with action items. Scattered meeting notes? Get one coherent brief.
Data and spreadsheets: Receipt images and invoice PDFs turned into an Excel workbook with formulas and category totals - all specfically based on your instructions. Messy CSVs cleaned into analysis-ready workbooks.
Presentations: Hand Cowork a report and a dataset. Get a structured PowerPoint with speaker notes. It edits the actual .pptx file and stores in your folder. It makes changes at one command - no need to upload file.
File and folder management: Batch rename 200 files. Classify documents by content. Create handoff-ready project folders for a client or team.
Research and synthesis: Multiple sources into literature reviews, competitive briefs, market intelligence reports. Cross-referenced with citations back to source files.
Status updates via connectors: Pull from calendars, email threads, and project tools (via Microsoft 365, GDrive, Jira or Slack connectors) to generate status updates and meeting prep docs.
Features Worth Knowing
We're not going to list every spec. But here's what matters for day-to-day use:
File support is broad. Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV, images, markdown. Cowork reads and writes all of them. It works inside a dedicated folder you choose - not your entire filesystem.
Connectors extend what Cowork can reach. Google Drive, Microsoft 365, Slack, Atlassian, Canva, Gamma, and others. Some are read-only (Microsoft 365), some are interactive (Slack - it can draft and send messages). Availability depends on your plan.
11 open-source plugins from Anthropic cover sales, marketing, legal, finance, customer support, product management, data work, and more. They're just markdown files - you can read them, edit them, build your own. Not a black box.
How it runs: Cowork operates in an isolated VM. It proposes a plan, you approve, it executes. It can spin up parallel sub-agents for bigger tasks. You can steer or stop mid-task. You stay in control.
Availability: Available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. This is not a developer-specific tool. It's purpose built for all knowledge workers.
When NOT to Use Cowork
Cowork is not the answer to everything. Skip it when:
Quick one-off questions - Use Claude chat or ChatGPT. Folder setup isn't worth it for "what does this acronym mean?"
Real-time web data - Cowork works on local files. Browser mode exists but carries prompt injection risk.
Simple single-step tasks - One prompt, no files? Use chat.
Mobile - Desktop only (macOS, Windows).
Cross-session memory - Cowork does not remember previous sessions. Each session starts fresh.
Enterprise audit trails - Not available during the research preview.
The decision rule:
Use Claude Cowork if: Files on your computer + multiple steps + real deliverable needed
Use Claude/ChatGPT chat if: Quick question, no files involved, single-step task
The Mistakes We See People Make
Mistake 1: Giving it broad filesystem access. Always use a dedicated project folder. Copy files into it. Don't point Cowork at your entire Documents directory.
Mistake 2: Skipping the plan review step. Cowork proposes before it executes. Read the plan. Catch misunderstandings before they touch your files.
Mistake 3: Not saying "no deletions." Cowork can permanently delete files if you let it. Add "do not delete anything" to your prompt unless deletion is intentional.
Mistake 4: Using browser mode on untrusted sites. Prompt injection is real. Stick to trusted domains only and use "ask before acting" mode.
Mistake 5: Expecting it to replace Claude chat. Different tools, different jobs. Cowork is for multi-step file work. Chat is for conversations - one-ffs, research, web search. Use both.
Mistake 6: Treating it like a chatbot. Asking questions instead of giving tasks. "What should I do with these files?" is a question. "Organize these files by project and generate an index" is a task. Cowork runs on tasks.
Do This Week
Tomorrow: Download Claude Desktop. Create a test folder on your desktop. Copy in 3-5 real project files - messy ones. Give Cowork its first task: "Scan these files, classify them by type, rename them with a consistent convention, and generate an index. Show me the plan first. No deletions."
This week: Pick a real workflow - folder cleanup, multi-file summary, or content analysis. Run it end to end. Watch the plan-then-execute flow. Steer if needed.
Next week: Try a connector. Pull from Google Drive or Slack into a local deliverable. That's when Cowork stops feeling like a tool and starts feeling like a teammate.
Reading about Cowork doesn't show you the value. Running it on a real folder does.
For knowledge workers drowning in documents and multi-file projects, this is the closest thing to a junior analyst who actually works on your stuff.
Try it on one messy folder. See what happens.
LEARN WITH US
Workshop on Why AI Doesn't Work for You (Yet) with PD & Sonali
Over the last 2 editions, we have already helped participants from diverse functions including engineering, consulting, marketing, operations, product management, investment banking and more, to get more efficient at work using AI.
We specifically focus on:
getting AI foundations right (without this, it never works right)
enhancing thinking in systems and workflows instead of tools and features
taking the immediate next steps to unlock 10x value when using AI for work
Feedback we have received:
Immediately applied a couple of the lessons and it unblocked something I was stuck on for the last one week
Excellent - clear, knowledgeable and held complete attention for the 2 hours
It was a complete eye-opener - I was thinking about it and using it all wrong
If you wish to join the next session, fill this form and either of us will reach out to you with details: https://forms.gle/D6TGEVoFBUqKPsP49
Image Credits: Work in Beta Workshop on 21st Feb 2026