Workflows and Background Agents

For big jobs, the AI can split the work among several helper AIs ("Agents") that work in the background at the same time.

What it is

A workflow is a plan for a large job: which Agents do which part, and in what order. The AI can start one on its own when a job is big enough, or you can run a saved one by name. The Agents work in the background while you keep chatting; when they finish, the result is posted into the chat and the AI continues from it.

When to use it

Good fit	Not needed
The same check on dozens of files or records	A job that one pass can do
Research with several independent parts	Work where each step depends on your answer
A saved procedure your team runs often	Quick questions

How to use it

1. Ask for the job in plain words; the AI decides whether to use helpers. Or type /workflow to list saved workflows, and /workflow <name> <task> to run one.
2. A task bar above the input box shows the active workflows and their Agents: In progress, Paused, Completed, Failed or Stopped.
3. Expand a workflow to see what each Agent is doing. Pause, Resume or Stop it there.
4. Open More › Tasks for the full list of this chat's tasks, including finished ones.
5. Keep chatting meanwhile. When the work finishes, the result appears in the chat.

Example

Check every contract in this folder for a termination clause and a renewal
date. Give me one table: file, clause found (yes/no), renewal date.

With many contracts, the AI splits them among Agents that read in parallel. The task bar shows their progress; when all are done, the AI posts one combined table.

Limits and permissions

• Two workflows can run in the same chat at the same time.
• Pause waits for the current step to finish (Pausing), then stops before the next one. Resume continues from the same place.
• More Agents use more of your model usage.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
An Agent shows Failed	Expand it to read the error, then ask the AI to retry that part
The task bar disappeared	It only shows active work; open More › Tasks for finished ones
The result looks incomplete	Ask the AI which items each Agent covered, and rerun the missing ones

Related

• Background Commands and the Task Bar Long commands running on your computer
• Scheduled Tasks Run a job at set times
• Common Workflows Complete examples