WorkerKitWhat is an AI worker?
An AI worker is an AI agent configured for a defined job, with its own app permissions, spending limits, memory and run record retained between requests.
Published by WorkerKit. Updated .
A worker gives a job a persistent home. Authorized people and agents can call it, and schedules or supported events can start it. When the run ends, the worker retains its method and controls for the next request.
AI assistant vs AI worker
| Question | What to establish | In WorkerKit |
|---|---|---|
| What starts it? | The job's response-time needs | An explicit request, a schedule or a supported trigger |
| What does it do? | A defined result | Standing instructions or decision rules |
| What can it reach? | The access the job needs | Its own app grants and supported restrictions |
| What can it spend? | Execution ceilings | Limits per run, per day and per account |
| What does it retain? | Context useful to future runs | Configuration and enabled memory |
| What happened? | Evidence to inspect | A receipt per run |
An assistant may also have memory, connected apps and scheduled work. Those features alone do not separate the categories. The useful question is whether the job has its own retained method, authority and record, independent of a particular conversation. An assistant can be one way to operate that worker.
What a real one looks like
Executive Daily Briefing connects calendar, email and tasks, runs on a schedule, and delivers a prioritised morning brief: meetings, urgent email, blockers, team chatter.
Set the schedule and delivery for when you need the brief. The kit also supports on-demand runs. Its method and app grants remain in place between briefs; scheduled execution is one way to use them.
Three more, each a different shape:
| Worker | Apps | How it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound Lead Qualifier | email, crm | On demand or a supported inbound event |
| Engineering Pulse | github | On demand or a schedule you configure |
| Company Knowledge Concierge | drive, sharePoint | On demand, when asked |
Why the job has to be specific
"Handle my email" is not a job a worker can do. "When a lead replies to the outbound sequence, check the CRM for their stage, draft a reply in our voice, and leave it in drafts for me" is.
A narrow job has a definition of done, a small set of apps and a small set of ways to go wrong, so its results and permissions are easier to evaluate. A vague job makes those decisions harder. Several workers can form an AI workforce, with each job retaining its own method, authority and owner.
The three things an unattended job needs
Before leaving a job to run unattended, establish its method, authority and handling of uncertain results:
- A written instruction that holds on the four hundredth run, not a prompt you improvise.
- Explicit app permissions, because it touches a real inbox while you sleep. Access is granted per app and per level, and can be narrowed or revoked at any time with the worker still running on what is left.
- Rules for what it may do: which contacts it may reach (contact rules), what must never leave through supported field restrictions, and where uncertain decisions go for human attention. Instructions and enforced access controls serve different purposes.
Set execution limits and review receipts as well. A recorded successful call proves that the operation completed, not that its business result was correct.
Where a worker comes from
Start from a worker kit, the reusable definition of a worker's job, apps and run settings. Installing it creates a worker in your account. Review its instructions, connect the required accounts, supply the job's inputs and check its permissions and limits before the first run. Setup effort depends on the job and the apps involved.
Browse the directory, or build a kit with an agent through MCP, the API or the CLI. WorkerKit accounts open by invitation through Get started.
WorkerKit hosts the runs, so the worker follows its schedule with no machine of yours left running, and model tokens bill at the provider list price with no markup. See pricing for current plans and usage terms.
Published WorkerKit plans and prices apply to shared cloud.
When the answer is not a worker
Choose a worker when retaining the method, authority and record is useful. Frequency is only one consideration: a one-off investigation can still need narrow app access and an inspectable result. The job needs a defined outcome, adequate inputs and a suitable response when the result is uncertain.
| The job | Fails on | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| An exploratory question with no retained method or app authority needed | Little value from persistent configuration | Your existing assistant |
| Calculating an invoice total | Requires exact arithmetic | Deterministic code or an app operation |
| Negotiating a renewal without explicit commercial limits | Unbounded commitments | A person, with a worker preparing the evidence |
| "Keep on top of my inbox" | Definable | Narrow it first, then reconsider |
| Anything sending money | Recoverable | A person, with a worker preparing it |
Start with a bounded result you can judge and recover from. The buyer's question is how the job fits into a company AI workforce, including its review and operating effort. You can keep using an assistant for interactive exploration while a worker carries out the defined job.
FAQ
What is the difference between an AI agent and an AI worker?
An AI agent is the general category: a model that uses tools to pursue a goal. An AI worker is an agent configured for a defined job with retained method, permissions, limits and run records. A worker can run on demand, on a schedule or through a supported event; a workflow is the process workers carry out.
Do I need to know how to code or prompt to run one?
You can start from a kit without writing the worker from scratch. Review its method, connect the required apps, supply the job's inputs and evaluate the first results. A kit is a starting configuration, not a guarantee that its results meet your company's criteria.
What can an AI worker see in my accounts?
Only what you grant it. Every kit states the apps it uses and the exact access it needs before you take it, you approve each connection yourself, and you can narrow or switch any of it off afterwards. A kit cannot reach an account you have not connected.
Where does an AI worker actually run?
On WorkerKit's managed runtime, so its authorized on-demand, scheduled and event-driven runs need no machine of yours left on. An enabled worker can remain ready between requests without executing continuously.
How much does it cost to run an AI worker?
The Free plan runs 5 workers with 500 tool calls a day and the complete safety layer, with no card and no expiry. Model tokens bill separately at the provider list price with no markup, from a wallet or your own key. See /pricing.