Two ways to hire
Open Cowork → Roster and choose Hire. You get six cards, with Start from scratch first.One of the five ready-made roles
Arrives knowing the job — instructions, personality, skills and the right capabilities already set.
Start from scratch
An empty coworker with every capability switched on, waiting for you to say what it’s for.
Five ready-made roles, each arriving with instructions, skills and the right capabilities. The first card starts empty.
What happens next
Your new coworker appears on the roster with a name, a one-line role, and an avatar generated for it. Give it a task and it starts working. You can rename it and rewrite its role straight from its page — click the text and type.The eight tabs
Every coworker has the same eight tabs. Here’s what each is for, in the order you’ll actually need them.
The eight tabs. Improvements shows a count when your coworker has something waiting for your yes.
Your first five minutes
1
Check what it can do
Open Capabilities. This is the one tab worth reading before the first task — it tells you what your coworker can reach, and what it can’t.
2
Read its instructions
On the Files tab you’ll find its standing instructions and its personality. A ready-made coworker’s are worth reading once so you know how it will approach things.
3
Give it a real task
Not a test. Hand it something you were going to do yourself this week — that’s the only way to judge it.
4
Correct it in the chat
When it does something not quite your way, say so in plain words. It remembers.
Good to know
A coworker built from scratch starts with every built-in capability on. A ready-made one starts narrowed to what its role needs. Either way, the Capabilities tab is the truth.
Common questions
How many coworkers should I hire?
How many coworkers should I hire?
Start with one and give it real work. Add a second when you catch yourself wishing the first one were better at something specific — that’s the signal for a specialist, not a bigger generalist.
Can I change my mind about the role?
Can I change my mind about the role?
Yes. The name, role, instructions, personality and capabilities are all editable at any point. Nothing about hiring is permanent.
What if I hire one and do not use it?
What if I hire one and do not use it?
Pause it. It stops working and stops costing, and everything it learned is still there if you bring it back. See Retiring and re-hiring.
Does each coworker need its own app connections?
Does each coworker need its own app connections?
Connections belong to the workspace; which ones a coworker may use, and which actions inside them, is set per coworker. See Connecting your apps.
Next steps
The five ready-made coworkers
What each one is for.
Giving instructions
The two things that define behaviour.
What a coworker can do
Read this before the first task.
Your roster and team view
Managing more than one.