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Field Guide · level 4 · Agents

Should an agent work while you are away?

Let it read and draft while you're away. Everything else waits for you.

5 min · try it 10 min · as of Oct 2026
Bring this to your team · Workflow automationPick which of your team's repeat jobs can run alone, with the brakes on. Get in touch
01

It keeps working after you leave

You close the laptop. The agent keeps going. Nobody's watching.

02

Three ways it works alone

A long task carries on after you leave. A schedule runs by the clock. An event, like a new email, starts it.

03

Reads and drafts. Nothing else.

Left alone, it only reads and drafts. Sending, paying, deleting or changing records waits for you. A 3 am email can't be unsent.

04

The away test

Any no? It waits for you.

  1. Same job every time?
  2. Only reads and drafts?
  3. Mistakes easy to undo?
  4. OK to find a bad run tomorrow?
05

Block it in the tool

Since 1 Oct 2026, tasks Claude schedules can use tools without asking. Your organisation must allow it. Only Blocked holds.

06

Someone reads every run

Watch the first run. Then read every run against the brief, and look over all your tasks weekly. Pause what nobody reads.

07

It drafts. You send.

The rest waits for your yes.

Try it · 10 minutes · on your own work

Sort three jobs, then try one

Use made-up or public material only.

  1. List three jobs you repeat.3 min
  2. Sort them: runs alone, asks first, or waits for you.3 min
  3. Schedule one read-only task, or brief it if your plan has none.3 min
  4. Pause or delete it.1 min

A read-and-draft brief to start from

Every Monday at 8 am, read [a public page or made-up notes]. Draft a one-page summary for me: what changed, and what needs my decision. Use only the connections this needs. Draft only. Send nothing.

Good looks likeOne task that only drafts, one run you've read, and the task paused or deleted.

In your assistant · as of Oct 2026 · Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

Set one up, brakes on

Menus move often. Missing something? A rollout, your plan, country or admin may be why.

My pickClaude first, ChatGPT second, Gemini third. For timed work, Claude is simplest: ask in any conversation, and every run sits on one Scheduled page. For routines started by a new email or Slack message, ChatGPT wins.

Use the tool your company approves for company data. That rule comes before mine.

Claude

Calls it scheduled tasks. They run in the cloud, unless they need files or apps on your computer.

Add
Any chatthenSay what, how oftenthenSchedule

Check Claude's proposal, then click Schedule.

See
Scheduled

In the left sidebar: past runs; pause, edit or delete.

Brake
Always allowNeeds approvalBlocked

In Customize, then Connectors. In scheduled tasks Claude creates, only Blocked is a firm stop.

Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.

ChatGPT

Calls it Scheduled tasks: once, on a schedule, or on an event.

Add
Scheduled

In the sidebar, or just ask in a chat.

Event
WorkthenTriggerthenConditionthenPrompt

Connect Gmail, Slack or GitHub, describe it in Work, then review all three.

Brake
Approval

Sends and changes to outside data may need approval; the task pauses until you review it.

Scheduled shows results; pause, edit or delete there. Event tasks: Plus and up, and Edu. Timed tasks: Go and up; on Free, OpenAI's pages disagree.

Gemini

Calls it schedules, inside a task. Personal accounts only (some work accounts get schedules in chat).

Add
Task

Say what and when: a time, a Gmail filter or a topic.

Check
Progress chipthenFiles

Open the run's thread: its steps, and what it read or updated.

Brake
ScheduledthenMorethenPause

Or Delete.

18 or over, Google AI Pro or Ultra, Keep Activity and Personal Intelligence on. Not in the EEA, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK.

Quick check · three questions

Did it stick?

  1. 1A morning task reads new supplier emails. What may it do without asking?

    The answer: C It reads outside words, so it gets no power to send or delete.

  2. 2A Claude task runs in Automatically approve. Which tool setting is a firm stop?

    The answer: A In that mode, only Blocked is always denied.

  3. 3Before you switch off your Slack connection, what do you check?

    The answer: B A task whose app is gone can quietly stop.
0 of 3 answered
Outside words, no powerSide note
A task that reads outside email or the web never sends, pays or deletes without asking. More in the lesson on what an agent may touch.
First runs in office hoursSide note
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre suggests first runs in office hours, when more people are around to watch (20 Aug 2026).
Google's own warningSide note
If a schedule runs while you're offline, Google says you “may not be able to stop” an unintended action. One more reason to keep work done while you're away to reading and drafting.
Sources, checked 16 Oct 2026Source

Product details as of Oct 2026, each line checked on the vendor's own page on 16 Oct 2026. Recheck by 16 Nov 2026. The examples in the pictures (a Monday notes summary, replies to suppliers, invoices) are made up for this lesson.

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Let it read and draft while you're away. Everything else waits for you.

Next lesson · 15 minWhat should you let an agent do in a web browser?