Recommended setup: chat vs agent
Doing Work is run by an AI. What that AI can do depends on what kind it is.
- A plain chat (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok with nothing connected) can read these docs and tell you if Doing Work fits your shop. It can't see your jobs or do anything in your account.
- A chat with Doing Work connected can do real work while you're talking to it. Add https://doingwork.work/mcp as a custom connector and sign in. Then it can set up your shop, write quotes and invoices with your prices, and check what's owed. When you close the chat, it stops.
- An always-on agent, like Grok Bot, Muse or Dots, keeps working when you're not there. It can check for new customer requests and answer them the same day, follow up on unsigned quotes overnight and act when a payment comes in. This is the setup we recommend for running your shop. Grok Bot and Dots need a paid subscription. Muse is free to start.
| Task | Plain chat | Chat with Doing Work connected | Always-on agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check if Doing Work fits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Set up your shop | No, it can only explain the steps | Yes, while you chat | Yes |
| Quotes and invoices | No | Yes, while you chat | Yes |
| Answer new customer requests the same day | No | Only when you open the chat | Yes |
| Follow up on quotes and invoices overnight | No | No | Yes |
| Act when a quote is signed or a payment lands | No | No | Yes |
What works in any setup
- Doing Work sends appointment reminder emails itself once you turn them on.
- Your phone agent answers calls on its own. It runs on your own ElevenLabs or Grok voice account.
- Signing, paying and connecting Stripe always happen on a page a person opens. No AI does those for you.
Started in a chat?
That's fine for checking fit. Your first setup step is an always-on agent. Your chat will give you the text to paste into it, and the rest of setup happens there. Not sure which you have? If it only answers when you hit send, it's a chat.