When you open the Work page in Coworker, you'll notice a dropdown at the bottom of the chat input that lets you choose between two modes: Auto and Deep Work. This article explains what each mode does and when to use which.
Auto (default)
Auto is the default mode for all chats. When you type a prompt, Coworker automatically determines the best way to answer it — whether that's a fast, focused response or a more thorough multi-step research pass.
How it works:
For simple, direct questions, Auto returns an answer quickly (typically within a few seconds) using the most relevant data sources for your query.
For more complex questions, Auto escalates automatically to run a deeper research pass — pulling from meetings, documents, Slack, Jira, GitHub, email, and more — and returns a comprehensive response.
You don't need to decide upfront. Auto adapts to your prompt.
Best for:
Most day-to-day questions and tasks
Quick lookups (e.g. "What's the status of this ticket?" or "What did we decide in last week's meeting?")
Situations where you're not sure how complex the answer will be
Deep Work
Deep Work is Coworker's most powerful chat mode. It always runs a thorough, multi-step research process before generating a response — regardless of how simple or complex your prompt is. This makes it the right choice when you need a complete, well-sourced answer and don't mind waiting a bit longer for it.
How it works:
Deep Work searches across all of your connected data sources simultaneously using specialist sub-agents.
It synthesizes what it finds into a structured, comprehensive response — reports, summaries, analyses, recommendations, and more.
Response times typically range from 10 seconds to several minutes depending on the complexity of the task.
Best for:
Research-heavy tasks (e.g. "Analyze our customer onboarding process over the last quarter and identify bottlenecks")
Generating structured reports or strategic briefs
Tasks that require pulling from many data sources at once
Situations where completeness matters more than speed
How to switch modes
Navigate to the Work page.
Click the mode selector in the bottom-left of the chat input. It will display the currently selected mode (e.g. Auto).
Select Auto or Deep Work from the dropdown.
Type your prompt and send. Your selected mode will be used for that chat.
Quick reference
Chat Mode | Auto | Deep Work |
Best for | Most tasks; when you're unsure | Complex research and analysis |
Response time | Seconds to minutes, depending on complexity | 10 seconds to several minutes |
Data access | All connected sources | All connected sources |
Approach | Adapts automatically to your prompt | Always runs a full multi-step research pass |
Tip: When in doubt, start with Auto. If you need more depth or are kicking off a structured research task, switch to Deep Work.