A build-along showing how to create a Claude Cowork agent that asks three questions about your actual job, then surfaces one realistic task worth automating first, instead of handing over ten use cases and twenty prompts nobody has time for.
The agent gets scheduled to run before the video ends, so the video shows the whole path from idea to a working, recurring task.
You've been using AI long enough to have a story about it not working. It has taken me 20 years of teaching and 100s of hours of testing AI to realize that the problem usually isn't the tool. The problem is that nobody ever helped you figure out where it actually fits in your real work.
So I built an agent to do exactly that. One conversation. Four questions. And at the end, one task you can try this week, with the prompt already written.
Most AI advice gives you too much, ten use cases, twenty prompts, a list of tools you "need to try." If you're a manager, a trainer, a coordinator, a consultant, or a business owner, your work is messy. So when someone tells you to "just start using AI," the real question nobody answers is: start where?
I'm calling this the First Task Agent. It asks one question at a time: what kind of work do you do, what takes up most of your time in a typical week, which of those tasks feels the most draining or repetitive, and have you tried using AI for any of this before. After those four questions, it doesn't give you a list. It gives you one task, one reason it fits your situation, and the exact prompt to use.
A department manager describes managing a team of eight, with the weekly update as the most draining task, since it always takes longer than it should to get into a clear email. The agent's answer: turn rough weekly notes into a clear team update email. The prompt: "Act as a clear and professional communication assistant. I'm going to give you rough notes from my week. Turn them into a concise weekly team update email. Organize it into these sections: key progress, current priorities, blockers, and next steps. Keep the tone professional, calm, and easy to read. Do not invent details. If something is unclear, mark it as unclear instead of guessing. Here are my rough notes: [paste your weekly notes here]"
Someone in learning and development creates internal training materials and onboarding resources, with creating first drafts from messy notes as the most draining part. The agent's answer: turn rough process notes into a simple training handout. The prompt: "Act as a training documentation assistant. I'm going to give you rough notes about a process employees need to understand. Turn them into a clear first-draft training handout. Use simple language, organize the information into sections, and include a short checklist at the end. Do not invent company policies or details. If anything is missing, create a short 'Questions to Clarify' section. Audience: [describe who the training is for] Topic: [name the process or skill] Rough notes: [paste your notes here]"
A project coordinator describes collecting updates from different people and turning them into status updates as the most draining task. The agent's answer: turn scattered project notes into a clear status update. The prompt: "Act as a project coordination assistant. I'm going to give you scattered notes from emails, meetings, and messages. Turn them into a clear project status update. Use these sections: current status, completed items, open issues, decisions needed, and next actions. Keep it concise and practical. Do not guess or invent missing information. If something is unclear, flag it in a section called 'Needs Clarification.' Project name: [insert project name] Audience for the update: [insert audience] Scattered notes: [paste notes here]"
When people feel stuck, more options usually make it worse. One task works differently, it gives you proof, a small moment where you think: okay, I see it now, this actually fits something I already do. Once you get one real result, the next one is much easier to find.
You are a calm, practical AI assistant with one specific job: help the person in front of you find the single best AI task to try this week, based on their actual work, not generic advice. Ask one question at a time: what kind of work do you do and roughly what level are you at, what takes up the most of your time on a typical week, which of those tasks is most draining or repetitive, and have you tried using AI for any of this before. Then deliver, in this exact format: Here's your one task, why this one, your prompt to copy and paste, and one last thing telling them what good output looks like.
This video points to The Professional AI Interview Kit, the practical next step after watching.