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Ask, hand over or build: which part of Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini is for what?

25 min · as of Oct 2026
You will be able to

Say where you ask a quick question, where you hand over a task and where you build software in Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini after this year's changes, and hand over one task from start to end (as of Oct 2026).

Part of Hand it the workTime about 25 minutes, with the try-itChecked 16 Oct 2026

Three things to take away

  1. 1

    Each app now does three kinds of work: ask (chat), hand over (an agent does a task for you in steps) and build (tools for making software). Most office workers need the first two.

  2. 2

    In 2026 each company joined its apps into one. In Claude, Cowork has been joining every ordinary conversation since 16 Sep 2026 (it reaches accounts in waves), and Claude Code stays separate. In ChatGPT, one desktop app has held Chat, Work and Codex since 9 Jul 2026. In Gemini, Task sits next to chat, for personal accounts.

  3. 3

    The rule I teach: ordinary Claude, or ChatGPT Work, for documents, research, spreadsheets, files and repeat tasks. Claude Code, Codex or Antigravity only when you build or change software, a website or a script.

In plain words

"Claude Code work": what people usually mean

You may hear people say "Claude Code work" or "Claude Code for work". There is no product with that name. People usually mean one of two different things:

  • Claude Code is Anthropic's tool "built for software engineering". It lives in the Code area of the Claude desktop app, on the web at Anthropic: Code, in the terminal and in code editors.
  • Claude Cowork is Anthropic's tool "built for non-coding knowledge work": documents, research, spreadsheets, files. Since 16 Sep 2026 it is no longer a separate mode. It is part of ordinary Claude.

Anthropic says both use "the same agentic approach". The difference is the job. If the job ends in a report, a sheet or a deck, use ordinary Claude. If it ends in working software, use Code.

Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini · as of Oct 2026

Side by side (as of Oct 2026)

ClaudeChatGPTGemini
Ask a quick questionA Claude conversationChatChat
Hand over a taskThe same Claude conversation (Cowork is built in)WorkTask (personal accounts, Google AI Pro or Ultra)
Build softwareClaude CodeCodexAntigravity
Keeps working when the laptop is closedYesYes (Work in the cloud)Yes (a remote browser)
Asks before actingYes, by defaultYou approve important actionsConfirms some actions and sign-ins
Repeats on a scheduleScheduled tasksScheduled Tasks, which can also start on a new email or messageSchedules
As of Oct 2026 · read 16 Oct 2026

In your assistant

Claude: one Claude for asking and handing over, plus Code

What changed. On 16 Sep 2026 Anthropic merged Cowork into ordinary chat. In its words: "Users no longer have to choose which mode a task belongs in." Your existing projects, connectors and skills carry over.

  • Who gets it when: Pro and Max first, on the web, the desktop app and the phone. Team and Free follow. Enterprise admins get at least 30 days' notice. "There's nothing to turn on."
  • One way only: once the change reaches your account, there is no way back to separate Chat and Cowork.

Hand over a task in Claude, start to end

  1. Open Claude on the web, the desktop app or your phone, and type in the message box, whether it is a quick question or a big job.
  2. For a big job, describe the result you want and attach the files. In the desktop app, choose the folders Claude may use.
  3. Turn on the connectors the task needs, from the "+" menu in the message box.
  4. Answer its questions if your request is unclear. By default, Claude asks before taking an action. You can let it keep working and check in only when something needs a closer look.
  5. Close the laptop if you need to. Long tasks can carry on, and you can check progress from your phone.
  6. For repeat work, such as a report that starts every Monday, schedule it.
  7. Collect the result. It arrives as Claude Docs, Claude Slides or Claude Design in the conversation, with one link to share, and downloads as PowerPoint or PDF. These three are on every plan, including Free.

What it can do in the desktop app

  • Read, edit and create files in the folders you choose, including Excel files with working formulas, PowerPoint decks and formatted documents.
  • Use a built-in browser kept "separate from your own browser, logins, and tabs" (Pro, Max and Team).
  • Take over your screen "only when it has to". This is a research preview, and it asks permission for each app.
  • Dispatch (Pro and Max): one conversation splits a big job into background tasks. You can start them from the Claude phone app while your computer stays on. In the new single Claude, Anthropic says Dispatch "isn't available to new users", so you may not see it. Ordinary conversations can run several tasks at the same time instead.
  • Know the cost: task work "consumes limits faster than Chat".

Claude Code, and how it fits now

  • The Claude desktop app now has two places: Claude (chat, with Cowork built in) and Code. Anthropic's admin pages put it plainly: "Code stays separate."
  • Claude Code is on Pro and above.
  • The connectors, skills and plugins you add in Claude follow you into Claude Code when you sign in with the same account.
  • The rule for office workers: use ordinary Claude for documents, research, spreadsheets, files and repeat tasks. Open Code only when you build or change software, a website or a script.

ChatGPT: Chat, Work and Codex

What changed. On 9 Jul 2026 OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work and a new desktop app that combines "Chat for questions and conversation, Work for research and finished deliverables, and Codex for software development in one app".

  • Since 16 Jul 2026 the desktop app has a switcher (ChatGPT or Codex) and a Chat or Work toggle. Chat and Work conversations sit together in Recents.
  • Gone or going: the ChatGPT Atlas browser stopped working on 9 Aug 2026, and its browser features moved into ChatGPT and Codex. Custom GPTs are planned for retirement, with a move to plugins.

Hand over a task in ChatGPT, start to end

  1. Open Work. On the desktop app, choose ChatGPT from the menu at the top left, then Work from the toggle at the top. On the phone, pick Work from the menu at the top. On the web, select Work.
  2. Start fresh or start from a project. Open a project and choose Work to use the project's files and instructions.
  3. Brief it. Add files and context, then "describe the outcome you want", with any rules and how you will judge the result.
  4. Stay with it. Follow its progress, answer its questions, change direction if you need to, and "approve important actions".
  5. Review and refine. Read the result and ask for changes in the same conversation.

Where Work runs and what it can do

  • On the web and the phone, Work runs in the cloud and can carry on after you leave. On the desktop app it can also use local files and desktop apps, with your permission.
  • It has its own cloud browser for websites, including sites you sign in to through a secure form the model cannot see. It pauses for your sign-in or your confirmation. On Plus and up, not Free or Go.
  • Scheduled Tasks run once, on a schedule, or when something happens: a new Gmail message, a new Slack message or a GitHub pull request. Scheduled tasks, including ones that start on an event, need Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise (not Free or Go).
  • Plans: on Free and Go, Work is limited and only in the desktop app. From Plus up, it is on the desktop app, the web and the phone (OpenAI's plans page).
  • Codex is the software tool: a separate view with its own history.
  • The older agent mode is still in the tools menu, or by typing /agent, but Work is now the main place for work with many steps.
  • The rule for office workers: Chat for quick help, Work for anything that ends in a file, a report or a finished task, Codex only for software.

Gemini: chat, Task and Antigravity

Hand over a task in Gemini, start to end (personal accounts)

  1. Click Task below the text box.
  2. Describe the task and when it should run. Mention a skill with @ if you have one for the job.
  3. Let it work. Gemini uses your connected apps, your skills and a browser: your own Chrome, or a remote browser in the cloud.
  4. Take over when it asks, for sign-ins, and confirm the actions it checks with you. Google advises not to type passwords or payment details into the task.
  5. Collect the result. It can create PDFs, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. On a Mac, it can also work with local files you give it permission to use.

Who can use Task: you must be 18 or over, use a personal Google Account ("this feature isn't available if you sign in with a work or school Google Account"), have Google AI Pro or Ultra, and have Keep Activity and Personal Intelligence on. It is not offered in the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK. Google's earlier pages call it Gemini Spark.

Gemini at work. At a company on Google Workspace, Gemini mostly lives inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Chat and Meet, depending on your company's edition. Look for "Ask Gemini" at the top right of Gmail or Docs.

Antigravity is Google's coding agent, now inside the Gemini Mac app. You approve its plan, and it builds and tests in the background.

The rule for office workers: with a work account, start with Gemini inside your Google apps. Task is for personal accounts for now.

Start to end

One task, start to end, in any of the three

This example is made up. Swap in a task of your own where a mistake is cheap.

  1. Pick the task. "Turn last month's three project status files into a short deck for Monday's team meeting."
  2. Open the right place. Claude: an ordinary conversation. ChatGPT: switch to Work. Gemini, on a personal account: click Task.
  3. Brief it like a colleague: the goal, what to use, the format, and what "done" looks like.
Goal: a short deck that sums up the three attached status files, for Monday's team meeting.
Use: only the three files attached. Nothing from the web.
Format: one slide per project with three points each, then one slide of open risks.
Done looks like: every number matches the files, and anything unclear is listed as a question for me.
Do not: send, share or post anything.
  1. Give it only what it needs. Attach the three files, or choose the one folder. Turn on only the connectors this task needs.
  2. Keep "ask before acting" on, and approve each important step.
  3. Read the result and the steps it took, not just its summary.
  4. Check names, numbers and dates against your files before the deck goes anywhere.
On your own work · nothing private

Try it (10 minutes)

Use public or made-up material. Nothing private goes in.

  1. Find the three places (2 minutes) in your main app: where you ask, where you hand over a task, and where the software tool is. Write them down.
  2. Hand over one small task (6 minutes). Use the brief above with three made-up notes, or a task on a public topic. Leave every approval on.
  3. Read what it did (2 minutes). Which steps did it take? Did it ask you anything? What would you change in your brief next time?
Three questions · pick one answer each

Quick check

  1. 1Your Claude account has the new single Claude. Where do you hand over a big task, such as "turn these three files into a deck"?

    The answer: A Since the merge, a quick question and a big task go in the same message box. Code is for software.

  2. 2A colleague tells you to "use Claude Code work" for the monthly report. What do you open?

    The answer: B Claude Code is for building software. Ordinary Claude, with Cowork built in, is for documents, research, spreadsheets and files.

  3. 3In ChatGPT, you want a task that reads suppliers' websites, including one you sign in to, and builds a comparison sheet. Chat or Work?

    The answer: C You type the password yourself into the site's secure form. Never put it in the chat.
0 of 3 answered
Read the whole lessonThe idea in full, the worked examples, common mistakes and what to check

The idea

There are three ways to work with any of these apps.

  • Ask. You ask, it answers. A quick question, a rewrite, a first draft from notes you give it.
  • Hand over. You describe a result. The AI plans the steps, uses your files, apps and a browser, asks you before important actions, and can keep going while you do something else. This is what people mean by an agent.
  • Build. Tools for writing and testing software. Powerful, and most office workers will never need them.

Until this year, these lived in separate modes, and people had to guess which one a job belonged in. Now they sit together. In Claude you type in one place, and it gives a quick answer or takes on a longer task as the job needs. In ChatGPT and Gemini, asking and handing over sit side by side in one app, one toggle or one button apart. Building software stays in its own place.

Common mistakes

  • Opening Code, Codex or Antigravity for office work. They are for software. Your report belongs in ordinary Claude, ChatGPT Work or Gemini.
  • Looking for a separate Cowork button after the change reaches your account. There is none. Just ask in the conversation.
  • Doing a file job in Chat and copying by hand, when Work or a Claude task would hand back the finished file.
  • Handing over a vague, open-ended job, such as "sort out my week". Start with one task with a clear "done", where a mistake is cheap.
  • Switching off "ask before acting" to save clicks. The question is the brake.
  • Forgetting the cost. In Claude, task work uses your limit faster than chat. A quick question does not need a task.
  • Expecting Gemini's Task on a work account. It is for personal accounts for now.

What to check before you trust it

  • The steps, not only the summary. Read the steps it took, as well as the result.
  • What it touched: which files it changed, which sites it visited, what it created.
  • The numbers: every figure against your source.
  • Every scheduled run, not only the first one. A task that ran well last week can go wrong this week.

Keep it safe

  • Keep "ask before acting" on, and approve each important step.
  • Choose only the folders and connectors the task needs, and switch the rest off for that conversation.
  • Type passwords yourself into the website, never into the chat. The rule is the same in all three.
  • Files, emails and web pages can carry hidden text that tries to steer the AI. Review what it proposes before it acts on outside material.
  • On a work account, hand over only the tasks and data your company allows.
Checked against · read 16 Oct 2026Every claim, its source and the date read

As of: product steps as they were on the vendors' own pages on 16 Oct 2026.

Every product line in this lesson comes from Neosaipien's platform reference (checked on the vendors' own pages, 16 Oct 2026).2. Its sources were each read on 16 Oct 2026. The vendor pages behind this lesson:

Where next

Next lesson · level 1 · 20 min

Which model should you pick, and when should you change it?

Find the model menu in Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini, start on the default, and know when to move up to a heavier model or down to a quicker one (as of Oct 2026).

Open the next lesson
The kit · free download

The Agent Playbook. Its brief cards and "set the brakes" cards are built for exactly this kind of handed-over task.

Bring this to your team

Workflow automation, for the repeat tasks your team wants to hand over.

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