AI Guides › Workbench
By Nigel Guy · 8 min read
Most people who switch on an agent treat it like a cleverer chatbot. They type a question, get a long answer, then copy it into a document by hand, so the agent never touches the files, inbox or apps where the work actually lives. The opposite mistake is just as common: you connect every account on day one, hand over something vague, and spend the afternoon checking what it did. Neither gets a finished job done.
The rule: pick the platform by where the job's inputs live and where the finished file has to end up. Then give it one real job, connected to the fewest apps it needs.
All three products below now take a goal, plan the steps, use tools and hand back a finished deliverable.
| ChatGPT Work | Claude (Cowork) | Perplexity Computer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | An agent inside ChatGPT for long, multi-step tasks. It produces documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports and Sites | Takes a described outcome and returns finished files: Excel with working formulas, PowerPoint decks, formatted documents | A research-first agent that chains search, analysis, document creation and actions across connected apps |
| Free tier | Limited Work access, in the desktop app only | None. Cowork needs a paid plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise) | None. Computer needs credits, and only Pro and Max subscribers can use them |
| Paid entry point | Plus brings Work to desktop, web and mobile | Pro | Pro, which has no monthly credits (a one-off 4,000 bonus, then you buy credits). Max includes 10,000 credits a month |
| Where it runs | Cloud on web and mobile. In the desktop app, local chats run on your computer | In the cloud on Anthropic's servers (beta). It reaches your computer through the Claude Desktop app when a task needs local files or apps | In a cloud sandbox. The Personal Computer desktop app adds local files and apps |
| Best for | Polished files your team will open, and recurring or event-triggered jobs | Work inside your own folders, files and connected inbox | Research that has to end in a cited deliverable |
| The catch | Work is metered like Codex, so long tasks use up your allowance faster | Computer use is a research preview on Pro and Max only, not Team or Enterprise | Credits are separate from your subscription, and heavy tasks cost far more than light ones |
I couldn't confirm current UK £ prices from any of the three official pricing pages, so check the figure, including VAT, at checkout.
How to use it. In the ChatGPT desktop app, choose ChatGPT from the top-left menu and then Work from the toggle at the top of the page. On web or mobile, pick Work from the dropdown. Open a project if you want Work to use that project's files and instructions. Then describe the outcome, attach the inputs and say how you'll judge the result.
It also fits jobs that should repeat. On Plus and above, Work can run on a schedule or when an event happens, such as a new Gmail message, a new Slack channel message or GitHub pull request activity. You create those triggers on web or mobile, because the desktop app can show them but not edit them. Event-triggered tasks aren't available on Free or Go.
Beginner trap. Work on web and mobile can't open files on your computer. Only the desktop app can, and only for folders you grant it. Even when a task runs locally, OpenAI says messages and task context may still be stored in the cloud.
How to use it. Open Claude on web, desktop or mobile. If your message box still shows Chat and Cowork, choose Cowork and describe the task. Anthropic is folding Cowork into Claude, so on newer Pro and Max accounts there is no toggle any more and you just describe the task. Set standing instructions under Settings > Cowork > Global instructions, or in Instructions for Claude under Settings > General on the new layout.
Pick the approval mode before you start. Manual asks before each connector action. Auto has Claude check each action for safety and uses more of your allowance. Skip checks nothing.
Beginner trap. Claude reaches your apps in a set order: connectors (Gmail, Google Drive, Microsoft 365, Slack) first, then the browser, then direct screen control. Screen control is the slowest route and the most likely to need a second attempt, so connect the one app the job needs rather than leaving Claude to click around your desktop.
How to use it. On the Perplexity Home page, select the Computer icon, then Start a task. Connect apps under Connectors in the Computer panel. Before anything else, go to perplexity.ai/account/usage to check your balance and confirm that auto-refill is still off, which is the default.
Perplexity's own guide puts light tasks at roughly 100 to 350 credits and large projects in the thousands. Run one small task first and open the Usage dropdown in that thread to see what it really cost. If credits run out, active tasks pause rather than cancel.
Beginner trap. An ordinary Ask search costs nothing, but anything routed through Computer spends credits. That includes the Comet Assistant in Work mode. Check which mode you're in before you press enter.
"Computer use" means something different on each platform, which affects privacy, overnight jobs and whether your mouse gets taken over.
| Situation | ChatGPT Work | Claude | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop closed or asleep | Cloud Work chats continue. With Work Cloud, a task can switch to cloud-only and lose local access if your computer goes offline | Cloud sessions and scheduled tasks keep running. Anything that needs your files, browser or screen needs the desktop app open | Cloud Computer keeps running. Personal Computer on a Mac mini can run around the clock |
| Controlling your screen | Desktop app on macOS and Windows. On Mac it needs Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions. On Windows it works in the foreground and takes over your pointer and keyboard | Desktop app, Pro and Max only, and the computer must be awake. It asks before each app. Trading and crypto apps are blocked by default | Personal Computer can control native Mac apps. Installed-app control isn't on Windows yet |
A change this week. Anthropic's help centre says that from 6 October 2026, new Cowork tasks on Pro and Max run in the cloud. The Only on your computer setting will also disappear from Settings > General.
Fill in the square-bracketed parts, then paste it into whichever of the three you chose.
You are acting as my delegated assistant for one bounded job. Do the work; don't just describe how you would do it.
Goal: [WHAT_FINISHED_LOOKS_LIKE — e.g. "a 6-slide deck summarising Q3 supplier costs"]
Who will use it: [AUDIENCE_AND_WHAT_THEY_DECIDE_WITH_IT]
Inputs you may use: [FILES_FOLDERS_OR_CONNECTED_APPS — name each one]
Inputs you must not touch: [OFF_LIMITS_FOLDERS_ACCOUNTS_OR_PEOPLE]
Output format: [FILE_TYPE_AND_WHERE_TO_SAVE_IT]
Deadline or size limit: [TIME_OR_LENGTH_LIMIT]
Work in this order:
1. Restate the goal in one sentence and list the inputs you plan to open. If any input above is missing, ambiguous or inaccessible, stop and ask me. Do not guess or substitute.
2. Propose a short plan of no more than six steps and wait for my "go".
3. Do the work. Before sending an email or message, deleting anything, or changing a shared file, pause and ask.
4. Deliver the file, then add a short note listing: sources used, assumptions made, and anything you could not verify.
Before you hand it over, check: does the output match the goal and format exactly; is every figure traceable to an input I gave you or a cited source; have you flagged rather than invented anything uncertain?