Skip to Content
View all events

Claude Cowork for Everyone

Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Intermediate content levelIntermediate

Automate Knowledge Work and Build Your AI-Powered Workflow

Course Outcomes

  • Delegate complex, multi-step knowledge work tasks to Claude Cowork using plain English instructions
  • Create professional documents (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF) autonomously through Cowork's file system access
  • Configure plugins and MCP connectors to integrate Cowork with Google Workspace, Slack, and enterprise tools
  • Build reusable instruction files and scheduled tasks that automate recurring workflows

Course Description

You've probably used Claude for writing, brainstorming, and research. But Claude Cowork is something entirely different. It's an autonomous AI agent that lives on your desktop, reads your files, and executes complex, multi-step tasks for you. Describe what you want, point it at a folder, and walk away. Come back to finished work: polished presentations, organized files, synthesized research, spreadsheets with working formulas, and more.

In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn to delegate real knowledge work to Claude Cowork. You'll watch it process messy data into clean reports, turn scattered notes into executive presentations, and automate the repetitive tasks that eat your week. You'll also learn how to configure plugins and connectors that integrate Cowork with Google Workspace, DocuSign, Slack, and dozens of other enterprise tools. No coding required. No terminal. No technical background needed. If you can describe what you want in plain English, Cowork can do it.

This live event is for you because...

  • You manage projects, teams, or operations and want AI to handle the grunt work: data processing, report generation, file organization.
  • You’re a business executive who wants to understand what autonomous AI agents can do for your organization.
  • You spend hours each week on repetitive knowledge work (formatting reports, synthesizing research, preparing presentations) that should be automated.
  • You already pay for Claude Pro ($20/month) and want to unlock Cowork’s full desktop agent capabilities.
  • You tried Claude Code but want the same power without a terminal or IDE.
  • You spend $500+/month on SaaS tools and want to see what a single AI agent can replace.

Prerequisites

  • The Claude Desktop app (free) installed on your machine
  • A Claude Pro subscription (minimum $20/month) or Max plan ($100/month, recommended for heavier usage)
  • Familiarity with using desktop applications and web browsers (no coding or terminal experience required)

Recommended preparation:

  • Switch to the Cowork tab in Claude Desktop and grant access to a test folder on your computer
  • Test with a simple task: “Create a text file called hello.txt with a greeting inside”

NOTE: Please complete setup and preparation tasks before the course begins. Time will not be spent on installation during the course.

Recommended Follow-Up

Schedule

The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.

Meet your AI coworker (10 minutes)

  • Presentation: What is Claude Cowork?; the shift from answers to action

Watch Cowork work (15 minutes)

  • Demo: Giving Cowork a messy folder of receipts and watching it create a formatted expense report with working Excel formulas
  • Presentation: How the execution loop works; permission prompts and safety features

Your first Cowork task (25 minutes)

  • Hands-on exercise: Describe a real work task in English and let Cowork execute it; review results and iterate
  • Q&A
  • Break

Instructions, prompting, and setup (15 minutes)

  • Presentation: Global versus folder-specific instructions (your AI’s playbook); the 4-block prompt framework; giving Cowork enough context to succeed
  • Demo: Setting up a project folder with instructions

Research synthesis (15 minutes)

  • Demo: Creating a competitive landscape report from over 20 documents
  • Q&A

Build your own workflow (25 minutes)

  • Hands-on exercise: Choose a real workflow from your job (meeting prep, status report, data cleanup), write instructions, and execute with Cowork; share results with the group
  • Q&A
  • Break

The plug-in ecosystem (15 minutes)

  • Presentation: What plug-ins are and why they matter; official plug-ins (finance, legal, sales, marketing, HR, engineering; MCP connectors (Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, DocuSign, Slack, FactSet, and more); enterprise features (private plug-in marketplaces, admin controls)
  • Demo: Install a plug-in and connect Google Workspace

Cross-app workflow (30 minutes)

  • Demo: How Cowork reads raw data from a folder, builds analysis in Excel with formulas and charts, and turns analysis into a polished PowerPoint deck
  • Q&A
  • Break

Advanced features and automation (10 minutes)

  • Presentation: Scheduled tasks (automate daily briefs, weekly reports, monthly presentations); subagent coordination for complex multipart projects; building custom plug-ins for your team (no code required); when to use Cowork and when to use Claude Code

Your 30-day action plan (10 minutes)

  • Presentation: Quick wins (file organization, document generation); workflow automation (recurring tasks, templates); enterprise integration (plug-ins, connectors, team rollout)

Wrap-up and Q&A (15 minutes)

Your Instructor

  • Mark Kashef

    Mark Kashef is the founder of Prompt Advisers, an AI consultancy that has helped hundreds of businesses seamlessly integrate generative AI into their workflows. With over a decade of experience in data science and machine learning, he has served in the roles of data scientist and data science manager at multiple startups. Through his popular YouTube channel, Mark helps professionals quickly understand and apply the latest AI innovations to solve real-world business challenges. He also has a background in finance, enabling him to combine technical depth with strategic business insight.

    Mark regularly delivers keynote talks, moderates panels, and appears on podcasts, offering insight into how AI is transforming the way we work. He’s known for translating advanced AI concepts into accessible frameworks that decision makers can act on confidently. Mark holds a master’s of management degree in artificial intelligence from Queen’s University

Skill covered

Software Collaboration