I help sustainability professionals build AI tools that save a week out of every month.
Hey {{first_name|there}},
After every Cowork workshop, and on almost every call for AI Lab Cohort 3 (we start 2 November, 11 days from now), I hear the same line:
"Zyad, this is great. But I only have access to Copilot."
I hear you. So this last email in the series is for everyone whose company allows exactly one AI tool. The good news: Cowork isn't a Claude-only feature anymore.
Three labs, one way of working
Anthropic launched Claude Cowork in January 2026: an agent that works inside your files instead of a chat window. OpenAI followed with ChatGPT Work. And Microsoft brought the same Anthropic technology into Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Which means everything we've covered in this series, the folder, the context file, skills, connectors, the Chat vs Cowork vs Code test, applies whichever tool your company gives you.
The 3 ways to use Cowork
1. Claude, directly. On a Claude paid plan, Cowork is simply part of Claude now. No IT ticket for personal use (and no company data on a personal plan).
2. Copilot Cowork, inside Microsoft 365. The same technology, wrapped into Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. This one goes through your company, not your personal login.
3. ChatGPT Work, from OpenAI. Same idea, OpenAI's version, available on ChatGPT's paid and business plans.
Why nobody told you it's in Copilot
Copilot Cowork needs IT to switch it on, and most companies haven't yet. The reason: it's metered. Pay as you go, billed per task.
That creates three open questions in most organisations:
Training. Untrained users burn through usage and produce an invoice that makes finance ask questions.
Cost model. IT has to understand how usage is counted and estimate it.
Business case. Management doesn't have one yet, so someone has to build it.
That conversation is happening right now, often without sustainability in the room. Which is exactly why you should walk in with a use case.
How to make the case
Don't ask for "AI". Ask for one process. Pick a recurring task from this series, the half-year environmental report, audit findings, ESG rating prep, and bring three numbers: how many hours it takes today, how often it comes back, and what goes wrong when it's rushed.
A specific, repeatable, measurable use case is the easiest business case IT will see this year.
And if waiting for IT isn't your style: in the AI Lab, that one process becomes a tool you build and own in six weeks. It's exactly the kind of use case we qualify on the call.
FREE VALUE
Copy-paste note for your IT team
Hi [name], I'd like to pilot Copilot Cowork for one recurring sustainability process: [process]. Today it takes about [X] hours every [quarter / half-year] across [N] sites or sources. I'd start with a small, time-boxed pilot on non-sensitive data, draft-only permissions, and a usage cap, then report back on hours saved and cost. Could we talk about what's needed to switch it on for a pilot group?
Fill in the brackets, send it, and forward this email to your manager if they've never heard of Cowork.
Hit reply and tell me how the conversation with IT goes. I read every one.
— Zyad
Claude, Copilot or ChatGPT, your team picks.
SustainOS Cowork team training runs on the tool your company already has, built around your own workflows. You pick the date, the format and the platform.
