Where Your Results Go

You gave Cowork a file. It did something with it. But where did the result actually go?

This is one of the most important things to understand about Cowork, and it's different from every browser-based AI you've used.

Results are real files

When Cowork creates something, it creates an actual file on your computer. Not a chat response you need to copy. Not a temporary preview. A real file, in a real folder, that you can open with any app.

Ask Cowork to "create a summary document from these notes" and you'll find a new file in your project folder. Something like meeting-summary.md or summary.txt. You can open it in Word, Notion, Google Docs, whatever you normally use.

Where they appear

New files appear in your project folder. That's the folder Cowork is currently pointed at. If you're not sure which folder that is, ask: "What folder are we working in?"

You can track what Cowork is working with in the Context panel on the right side of the interface.

Chat responses vs file creation

Not everything creates a file. There's a simple pattern:

• Questions get answered in the chat. ("What's the main theme of this document?" produces a chat response.)
• Tasks produce files. ("Create a summary document from this" produces an actual file.)

If you want a file when Cowork gives you a chat response, just say: "Save that as a file called summary.md." It will.

Editing existing files

Cowork doesn't just create new files. It can also edit existing ones. Say "Fix the typos in meeting-notes.txt" and it'll update the file directly.

The first time Cowork wants to make changes to files in your folder, it'll ask for permission. Once you allow it, that applies to all files in the folder for that session. Destructive actions like deleting files always get a separate permission check, no matter what.

Try it in the game

Head to the game and play through the Level 1 demos. You'll see Cowork read files, create new ones, and produce results that land right in your project folder.