Getting started

This tutorial walks you through setup and your first real tasks. Budget about 30 minutes. By the end, you'll have connected your AI assistant, built something real, and started applying it to your actual work.

Before you start — what Claude can and can't do

Fair to ask. Here's the honest answer on the things people usually wonder about.

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Claude can't see your passwords

When Claude opens Google or any other site, your browser is already logged in — Claude just clicks buttons, the same as you would. It never sees credentials, and it can't access your system keychain or saved passwords.

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Claude only touches one folder

In Cowork mode, Claude can only read and write to the Arlo OS folder you selected. It can't see your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, or anything else on your computer. Everything else is invisible to it.

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You can stop it any time

Say "stop," "wait," or "hold on" and Claude stops immediately — even mid-task. If it does something you didn't want, say "undo that" or "let's go back." Nothing is final until you confirm it is.

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Your conversations are private to you and Anthropic

Chats are processed by Anthropic (the company that makes Claude) — the same as any AI assistant. Justin and Blaney Group cannot read your personal conversations. The session logs saved to your Arlo OS folder are yours, on your computer.

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It's not watching you in the background

Claude is only active when you're in a chat. It doesn't run in the background, doesn't monitor your computer, and doesn't do anything when you close the app.

Connect Claude to Chrome

~5 minutes

First, we'll get your AI assistant connected to your browser so it can help you work in the tools you already use.

Setup instructions

Open Chrome and go to claude.ai
Log in with your Blaney Group account (or create one if you haven't been set up yet)
Install the Claude for Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store
Click the Claude extension icon in your toolbar and select "Connect"
You should see a green checkmark — that means you're connected

Quick test

Open a new tab, go to any website, and click the Claude icon. Ask it: "What is this page about?" If it responds with a summary, you're set up correctly.

Build a spreadsheet together

~10 minutes

Now let's do something useful. You're going to ask your assistant to build a spreadsheet in Google Docs — something you'd normally spend time on manually.

"Create a Google Sheet that tracks weekly tasks for a team of 5 people. Include columns for task name, assigned to, status (not started / in progress / done), due date, and notes. Add some example data so I can see what it looks like."

Watch what happens. The assistant will open Chrome, navigate to Google Sheets, create the spreadsheet, format it, and add sample data — all while you watch.

What's actually happening when it opens Google

Claude is controlling your Chrome browser — clicking and typing the same way you would. Your Google account is already logged in through Chrome, so Claude doesn't need your password and never sees it. It's just using the browser on your behalf, like a very fast pair of hands.

You can ask it to adjust anything — add columns, change formatting, add formulas.

Try these follow-ups

"Add a column that counts how many tasks each person has." or "Color-code the status column — red for not started, yellow for in progress, green for done." or "Add a summary row at the top that shows total tasks by status."

The point of this exercise: you're learning the rhythm. Ask for what you want in plain English, review what it gives you, then refine. That's the whole workflow.

Describe your work

~5 minutes

Now we're going to point the assistant at your actual job. Tell it what you do — be as specific or general as you want.

"Here's what my job involves: [describe your role, the tools you use, the tasks you do regularly, what takes the most time, what's repetitive]. Based on this, what are 3 things you could help me with right now?"

The assistant will come back with concrete suggestions tailored to your work. Some will be obvious, some might surprise you. Pick one that sounds useful and try it.

What to look for

The best use cases are tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming, or require pulling together information from multiple places. If the assistant suggests something and you think "I spend an hour on that every week," that's a winner.

Walk through a real SOP

~10 minutes

This is where it gets real. Take an SOP or process you currently follow — something you do regularly — and paste it in.

"Here's an SOP I follow for [task name]: [paste the full SOP text]. Walk me through this step by step. For each step, tell me: can you do this for me, or do I need to do it myself? Then let's do it together — you handle what you can, I'll handle what I need to."

The assistant will break down the SOP, identify which steps it can automate or assist with, and walk you through the rest. You'll end up actually completing the SOP together — faster than doing it alone.

Why this matters

This exercise shows you exactly where AI fits into your real workflow — not in theory, but in practice. The steps it can't do? Those are still yours. The steps it can do? That's free time back in your day.

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