# Tasks and autopilot

A task is a piece of work with a brief, a status, an owner and a conversation attached.

## Task fields

| | |
|---|---|
| **Name** and **Description** | The brief. |
| **Status** | New, In progress, Pending Review, Completed, Canceled, Closed. |
| **Priority** | For sorting. |
| **Assigned** | Who owns it. |
| **Form** and **Data** | Structured input the task carries, when it came from one. |
| **Copilot** | Whether the AI is working on it. |

## The task assistant

Every task has an assistant panel: **Ask the AI about this task**. It can summarize the
brief, suggest next steps, or draft a response, with the task's own content already in
context so you do not have to paste it in.

## Autopilot

Autopilot hands the task to the AI to execute rather than to advise on. It works through
the brief and posts a summary when it finishes.

> Autopilot is working on this task. The copilot executes the brief and posts a summary
> when done.

Use autopilot for work that is well specified and checkable: drafting from a clear
brief, assembling a summary, producing a first version of something. Use the assistant
instead when you want to stay involved at each step.

Either way, the task keeps its full history, so what autopilot did is visible rather
than only its result.

## Scheduled jobs

**Administration → Scheduled Jobs** runs work on a timetable rather than on demand: a
weekly content generation, a monthly refresh.

A scheduled job has:

- **A topic source**, where each run gets its subject. This can be a knowledge base, or
  a public Google Calendar iCal link, in which case the nearest upcoming events become
  the topics.
- **A prompt template**, what to do with the topic, for example `Generate content about
  today's topic: {{topic}}. Follow the brand guidelines.`
- **A schedule**, including a custom expression for anything the presets do not cover.

Each job lists its **Recent Runs**, so you can see what it produced and when it last
ran successfully.

Jobs can be **Enabled** or **Disabled** without being deleted, which is the right way to
pause one.

## Tasks or workflows?

Both automate work, but they suit different shapes of it:

- A **task** is one piece of work, tracked, and optionally done by AI.
- A [**workflow**](/guide/automation/workflows) is a defined sequence of steps that runs
  the same way every time.

If you describe the work as "then, then, then", use a workflow. If you describe it as
"someone needs to", use a task.