Honest answers to the questions we hear in actual sales calls, security reviews, and operator onboarding for Claude Cowork. About Cowork, buying, security, ops, quality.
Honest answers to the questions we hear in actual sales calls, security reviews, and operator onboarding. Not a marketing FAQ.
What is Claude Cowork? A second tab in the Claude desktop app that lets Claude work with files in a folder you grant. See What is Cowork.
Is it the same as Claude Code? No. Code is for developers; Cowork is for knowledge workers. Same backend; different surface. See Cowork vs Chat vs Code.
Is it generally available? Yes — GA was April 9, 2026. Some features (Memory, scheduled tasks) shipped after.
Mac and Windows only? Yes, at the time of writing. Linux is not supported.
Can my browser-only team use Cowork? No. Cowork requires the desktop app.
What does it cost? The same Claude subscription unlocks Chat, Cowork, and Code. Pro $20/month, Max $100–200/month. Team and Enterprise priced per seat with org features. See Pricing & plans.
How many seats does my team need? Usually a mix: ~50% Pro for occasional users, ~30% Max for daily power users, ~20% admin/governance. We size during pre-flight.
Does Tinkso resell Cowork licences? No. You buy Cowork from Anthropic; we charge for implementation.
Where does our data live? On Anthropic's infrastructure for inference. The workspace folder stays local. See Security model.
Is our data used to train Claude? By default, on Pro/Max yes; opt-out is one toggle. Team / Enterprise default to do not train. See Data residency & retention.
Is it SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / GDPR ready? Anthropic publishes SOC 2 and ISO certs. GDPR-ready under standard DPA. See Audit & compliance.
Can we use it for HIPAA / PHI workflows? Conditional. Enterprise plan, BAA, careful workflow design. Talk to security before assuming yes.
What about audit logs? Account- and workspace-level logging is good; per-action audit-grade logging is improving. Use cloud-sync version history for the file-level trail.
How long does a pilot take? Six weeks for a single function. See First team rollout.
Do we need to hire a consultant? No. The bible is written so a sponsor with a willing pilot owner can run a deployment self-serve. Outside help pays back for custom MCP connectors, multi-function rollouts, or regulated functions. See When to call Tinkso.
Can we run Cowork on a network drive? Yes if it mounts as a local path. Native cloud-only (no local sync) does not work.
Does Cowork integrate with our SaaS stack? Via MCP connectors. See MCP connectors.
My VPN is breaking Cowork. Help. Disconnect VPN. See VPN & network.
I keep hitting usage limits. You're probably on Pro doing Max-tier work. See Usage limits.
Can Cowork run while I'm asleep? Yes via scheduled tasks, but only if the laptop is on. See Scheduled tasks.
Why does Cowork keep ignoring my CLAUDE.md?
Usually CLAUDE.md is missing, in the wrong location, or the rule is buried. See CLAUDE.md and memory.
Cowork made up a number. Now what? Add an explicit citation requirement to your prompt. See Output quality.
Output is too AI-flavoured.
Add a stop-word list to CLAUDE.md and three good / three bad examples.
OCR misread an amount. Always use a Review tab for low-confidence rows. See Data extraction & OCR.
What does Tinkso actually do? Implementation of Cowork at mid-market companies — workspace setup, custom MCP connectors, custom skills, training, governance. See Observe → Co-design → Ship.
Where are you based? US and UK, matching our client base's timezones.
How much does an engagement cost? Starts in the low five figures depending on scope. We size after the triage call.
Book a 30-minute call. We'll ask where you are, what your team needs, and which systems Cowork should touch.