# How to use Claude as a personal agent

There is no agent mode to turn on: on Pro and Max, Claude decides for itself whether a message needs a quick answer or a longer task. Your setup work is choosing connectors and saving skills.

## What you need

- Claude Pro at $20 a month, or Max at $100 or $200 a month
- Claude on the web, desktop or mobile
- A country where Claude is offered

## Step by step

### 1. Check for the merged experience

If your message box no longer offers separate Chat and Cowork options, your account has been switched over. The rollout takes a few weeks, so it may not have reached you yet.

### 2. Add connectors

Connect the tools where your work lives, such as Google Drive, Notion, Slack or GitHub. Claude asks for permission before it acts inside them.

### 3. Save skills for repeat work

Store instructions for jobs you do often, such as your report layout or brand style. Skills apply in every conversation.

### 4. Hand over a real task

Describe the result you want and when you need it, for example a competitor summary as slides by noon. You can close your laptop while Claude keeps working.

### 5. Edit the files it returns

Claude delivers editable documents and decks. Docs and Slides are in beta and export to PowerPoint or PDF.

## First things to do after setup

- Tell Claude which sources it may use for each task, since every connector widens what it can read.
- Check Settings, Usage after your first long tasks, because usage may be measured a little differently during the rollout.
- Turn your most common deliverable into a skill so the format stays consistent.

## Common mistakes

- Expecting Claude to shop, book or message strangers, which it is not built for.
- Assuming a colleague on the same plan sees the same screens while the rollout is still in progress.
- Looking for the merged experience on Team or Free plans, which get it later.