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The PM's Guide to Claude Dispatch

Text Claude a Mission.
Come Back to Finished Work.

Anthropic's new Dispatch feature turns your phone into a remote control for your desktop AI agent. Here's everything you need to know.

How Dispatch Works

📱

Your Phone

Send a task from anywhere via Claude mobile app

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🔗

Syncs

Persistent thread connects phone to desktop

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💻

Your Desktop

Claude executes using local files & connectors

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✓

Results

Finished work messaged back to your phone

🔒

Files Stay Local

Claude runs in a sandboxed VM on your machine. Your files never leave your computer or go to Anthropic's servers.

🧠

Context Persists

One continuous thread. Claude remembers your brand guidelines, tone preferences, and previous tasks without re-briefing.

🔌

Full Connector Access

Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Linear and 150+ MCP connectors. Everything you've set up in Cowork carries over.

📄

Real File Output

Claude creates actual .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, and .pdf files directly in your folders. Ready to open, edit, and send.

Pro+

Plan Required

Mac/Win

Desktop App

iOS/Android

Mobile App

Mar 2026

Research Preview

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Understanding the Differences

Cowork vs. Schedule vs. Dispatch

🤝

Cowork

Pair programming partner. You're at your desk, working side-by-side with Claude in real time.

⏰

Schedule

Cron job for knowledge work. Set it once, Claude runs it daily, weekly, or hourly on autopilot.

📱

Dispatch

Remote delegation. Text a mission from anywhere, Claude works on your computer, reports back.

Feature	Cowork	Schedule	Dispatch ✦
Initiation	From desktop only	Automatic on cadence	From phone, anywhere
Interaction	Real-time, step-by-step	Fully autonomous	Async: send task, get results
Context	Per-session	Per-task (isolated)	Persistent thread (carries over)
Best For	Complex collaboration	Recurring reports	On-the-go delegation
Mobile Access	✗ Desktop only	✗ Desktop only	✓ Phone + Desktop
Files & Connectors	✓ Full access	✓ Full access	✓ Full access
Requires Desktop	✓ Awake + open	✓ Awake + open	✓ Awake + open

The Key Insight

Dispatch doesn't replace Cowork or Schedule. It adds a new interaction mode: asynchronous, mobile-first task delegation. Think of it as texting your AI assistant who has access to your entire computer. You're no longer tethered to your desk to get work done.

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Getting Started

Set Up Dispatch in 5 Minutes

1

Update Claude Desktop App

Download the latest version from claude.com/download. Dispatch requires the most recent release on macOS or Windows x64. Open the app and ensure Cowork is enabled.

2

Update Claude Mobile App

Get the latest Claude app on iOS (App Store) or Android (Play Store). The Dispatch section will appear in the sidebar once both apps are updated.

3

Open Dispatch & Scan QR Code

In Claude Desktop, click "Dispatch" in the left panel, then "Get started." A QR code appears. Scan it with your phone's camera to pair the two devices instantly.

4

Configure Permissions

Toggle file access and computer wake settings. Claude will ask permission before acting on your files, but you need to grant baseline access for it to read your folders and connectors.

5

Start Dispatching Tasks

Tap the Dispatch entry in the mobile app sidebar. You're now in a persistent thread. Send your first task. Claude will work on your desktop and message you back the results.

Requirements Checklist

💳

Pro or Max Plan

Available on both paid tiers. Max subscribers got early access, Pro within days.

💻

Desktop Must Stay Awake

Claude Desktop app open + computer awake. Tasks stop if machine sleeps.

📱

Latest Mobile App

iOS or Android with the most recent Claude update installed from your app store.

🌐

Internet on Both Devices

Active connection required to sync the persistent conversation thread.

Try These as Your First Dispatch

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"Summarize my unread emails and list the 3 most urgent items."

Low-risk, high-value. Tests your Gmail connector and gets immediate productivity gains. Perfect first task.

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"Organize the files in ~/Downloads into folders by project."

Tests file system access. Visual, satisfying result. You'll see a clean folder structure when you return to your desk.

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"Search Slack for any mentions of [project] this week and summarize."

Tests your Slack connector. Great for catching up on conversations you missed while in back-to-back meetings.

Pro Tip: Maximize Uptime

Go to System Settings → Energy and disable sleep while plugged in. This keeps your Mac awake so Dispatch can run tasks anytime. Also set up your connectors (Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Drive) before your first Dispatch — Claude uses whatever tools you've already configured in Cowork.

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Practical Applications

12 Use Cases That Unlock Dispatch

For Product Managers

1

Morning Email Triage Daily

"Prioritize my inbox, draft responses to anything urgent, and flag items that need my decision." Get an organized inbox before you reach your desk.

2

Standup Prep from the Commute Daily

"Summarize yesterday's Slack threads in #product and #engineering, plus Linear tickets updated." Walk into standup fully briefed.

3

PRD Research & Enrichment Strategic

"Find 3 data points supporting the business case in my PRD draft at ~/Documents/prd-v2.docx." Come back to an enriched spec with citations.

4

Competitive Intel Report Strategic

"Research [competitor]'s latest launch. Create a feature comparison doc against our product." Formatted analysis ready for your next sync.

5

Meeting Prep Package Daily

"Review my meetings today, pull relevant docs from Google Drive for each." A folder with every deck, brief, and doc you need for the day.

6

Stakeholder Exec Summary Weekly

"Create a one-page exec summary of Q1 metrics from ~/Reports/q1-data.xlsx." A polished briefing doc dropped in your folder.

7

Sprint Retrospective Synthesis Weekly

"Combine notes from this week's 5 retros. Create a decisions-and-action-items tracker." A structured tracker with owners and deadlines.

8

Presentation Builder Ad Hoc

"Create a 10-slide board deck on our product roadmap using data in ~/Strategy/." An actual .pptx file ready to present.

9

User Feedback Synthesis Ad Hoc

"Analyze the 40 support tickets in the CSV. Group by theme and rank by severity." A prioritized insights report to drive your roadmap.

10

Release Notes Draft Ad Hoc

"Pull the last 2 weeks of merged PRs from Linear. Write user-facing release notes." Polished changelog ready for your marketing team.

11

OKR Progress Tracker Weekly

"Update our OKR tracker with this week's progress from the team updates in Slack." A formatted status doc with red/yellow/green health signals.

12

Content Calendar from Research Ad Hoc

"Search trending AI topics, plan next week's newsletter content, save as interactive HTML." A visual calendar with researched story ideas.

Beyond Product Management

⚕️

Healthcare

Dispatch patient data analyses from mobile. Retrieve clinical insights on your workstation.

⚖️

Legal

Document review and case research dispatched between court and office.

📊

Finance

Expense reports from receipt folders. Portfolio analysis from spreadsheets while traveling.

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Real-World Workflows

A PM's Morning with Dispatch

Task 1

Inbox Zero Before Coffee

"Go through my Gmail. Prioritize by urgency. Draft responses to anything from the exec team. Flag anything that needs my judgment call."

📋

Output: Prioritized inbox with 3 draft responses, 2 flagged items needing decisions, and 12 auto-archived FYIs.

⏱️

Time saved: 25 minutes of manual triage. You review drafts in 3 minutes flat.

Task 2

Board Deck From Raw Data

"Build a 10-slide board presentation on Q1 product performance. Use the metrics in ~/Reports/q1-dashboard.xlsx and the roadmap in ~/Strategy/roadmap-2026.docx."

📊

Output: A .pptx file with exec summary, KPI trends, roadmap highlights, and risk register. Saved directly to ~/Presentations/.

⏱️

Time saved: 2+ hours of slide building. You polish the narrative in 15 minutes.

Task 3

Competitive Intel Before the Strategy Sync

"Research Acme Corp's product launch from yesterday. Compare their new features against our roadmap. Save a one-page analysis to ~/Intel/."

🔍

Output: Feature comparison table, pricing analysis, and 3 strategic recommendations. Formatted as a .docx in your Intel folder.

⏱️

Time saved: 45 minutes of research. Walk into the sync with data-backed insights.

Dispatch all 3 tasks in 5 minutes, then go live your morning

6:30 AM

Dispatch from bed

→

6:35 - 7:30

Coffee, gym, breakfast

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7:30 AM

Review finished work

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8:00 AM

Walk into meetings prepared

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Making It Work

Tips, Limits & What's Coming

8 Tips to Get the Most Out of Dispatch

1. Structure Your Folders

A well-organized directory means better results. Create clear project folders before dispatching. Claude works best with predictable file paths.

2. Set Up Connectors Early

Configure Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, and Linear in Cowork before your first Dispatch. Claude reuses your existing connections.

3. Be Specific in Requests

Include file paths, output format, and save location. "Create a .docx summary in ~/Reports/" beats "summarize this." Precision cuts back-and-forth.

4. One Task at a Time

Stacking multiple requests causes confusion. Send one task, wait for the result, then send the next. Serial dispatching yields the best reliability.

5. Create Skills for Repeats

Save common workflows as Cowork Skills. "Email triage" or "standup prep" become one-tap dispatches you can reuse every morning from your phone.

6. Always Review Artifacts

Claude's outputs are strong first drafts, not final deliverables. Budget 5-10 minutes to review. Your expertise adds the critical last 20% of quality.

7. Disable Sleep Mode

Go to System Settings and disable sleep while plugged in. Dispatch requires your desktop to stay awake. A sleeping Mac means a stalled task.

Bonus: Combine with Schedule

Use Schedule for recurring tasks (daily briefings) and Dispatch for ad-hoc requests. Together they cover both planned and spontaneous workflows.

Honest Limitations (Research Preview)

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Desktop must stay awake. Tasks stop if your computer sleeps or the Claude app closes. Disable sleep when plugged in.

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Mixed reliability on complex tasks. Summarization and data retrieval work well. Sharing outputs or acting through other apps is about 50/50.

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No completion notifications yet. You have to check back manually. No push alerts when a task finishes.

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Single persistent thread only. You can't create separate conversations for different projects or contexts.

The Bottom Line

Dispatch is early but directionally transformative. Your scarce resource isn't time. It's decision-making capacity. Offload the mechanical work. Save your judgment for the decisions that actually need you.