> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cogniagent.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Working without you
> Your AI coworker can start work on a timetable, keep going on a long job, come back to check on something, and answer people while you're away.
The point of a coworker isn't that it's fast while you watch. It's that things get done while you don't.
## The four ways
Each answers a different question about *when* work happens.
Recurring work on a timetable. A morning briefing, a Friday report. **You decide, in advance.**
Push through one long job in a single run instead of check-in-sized pieces. **You decide, in the moment.**
Come back to a task later — when a reply lands, when a process finishes. **The coworker decides, mid-task.**
Someone messages it in Slack or email and it just gets on with it. **Someone else starts it.**
## What stays true when you're not there
This is the part worth being clear about, because "autonomous" makes people nervous, and it should mean *unattended*, not *unchecked*.
**Approvals still pause.** Anything leaving your workspace waits for your yes, however long you take. A coworker working overnight doesn't send the email at 3am because you were asleep — it waits.
**Permission rules still apply.** Nothing is relaxed because nobody's watching.
**Everything is on the record.** Every step it took while you were away is in the conversation, in order, with a notice explaining why it woke up and what it did.
**It stops rather than guesses.** When it hits something it can't resolve, it waits for you instead of picking an answer.
## Building up to it
Nobody should hand a coworker unattended work on day one. A reasonable progression:
Run the task manually a few times and read what it does. You're learning where it's reliable.
Whatever you found yourself correcting goes into its [instructions](/cowork/coworkers/instructions) or a [skill](/cowork/skills/creating).
Write the [permission rules](/cowork/control/permission-rules) that matter — especially the "never" ones.
Now let it run on its own, and read the first few results properly.
The step people skip is the third one. Ten minutes writing "never delete anything" and "never email outside the company" is what makes the rest comfortable.
## Good to know
A paused coworker doesn't do any of this — no schedules fire and no channels listen. It's the single switch that stops everything.
Work done while you were away is normal work. It shows up in [your tasks](/cowork/chat/tasks) and on the coworker's Activity tab like anything else.
## Common questions
Only where you've allowed it. The default pauses sends, changes and deletions for your approval — see [Approvals](/cowork/control/approvals).
The conversation has everything, and a notice explains why it woke up. Have it message you the summary with [Talking to people](/cowork/capabilities/talking-to-people) if you'd rather not go looking.
It stops and says so rather than pressing on. You'll find the task waiting with an explanation.
Only in the sense that more work happens. Waiting is free — a coworker sitting between check-ins costs nothing.
## Next steps
Work on a timetable.
Set the boundaries first.
One long run.
Why it needs you less over time.