What's the difference between using Claude in regular chat versus using 'co-work,' and when should I use each?

Co-work has access to your local files, making it more powerful for certain tasks, and it can run multiple tasks simultaneously — for example, connecting to and processing data from two different systems (like a bookkeeping tool and QuickBooks) at the same time, with those agents able to share context with each other. For simple, non-analytical requests — like asking for a client's net income for a given month — regular chat is perfectly sufficient, and co-work isn't necessary. The speaker noted uncertainty on some details and invited others to correct or add to the explanation.