Start here
Colleague is an assistant for academic work. Most users only need two things:
- Talk to the agent in Telegram.
- Share documents, folders, calendars or email context with the agent’s Google Workspace account when the task needs it.
Dropbox is also available if you prefer it for file handoff. Connecting broader personal accounts is optional.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Only share material you are allowed to use with Colleague. If a policy, ethics approval, funder rule or data management plan says material must stay somewhere else, keep it out.
For the best experience, set up the desktop apps first:
- Install Telegram Desktop on the computer you normally work from. This is the easiest way to have longer conversations with your agent, paste context, review drafts and move between chat and files.
- Install Google Drive for desktop if you work with shared Google Drive files regularly. It makes shared files easy to find from Finder or File Explorer. If you work with Microsoft Office files, this also lets you open synced Word, PowerPoint and Excel files in the full desktop apps on your computer instead of editing everything in a browser window.
You can also install Telegram and Google Drive on your phone or tablet if you want to check messages, approve small tasks or look up files while away from your desk. The desktop apps are still the recommended first setup.
About Google sign-in and sharing
Section titled “About Google sign-in and sharing”Colleague sign-in uses Google through Cloudflare Access. If you are reading these docs inside the product, you have already signed in.
That is not the same as connecting your own Google account to Colleague.
To share Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, folders or calendars with the agent’s Workspace email, use a Google account that can share those items. Sharing a document or folder with the agent lets the agent work on that shared item as itself. Connecting your Google account is optional and broader: it lets the agent work across the Google content the connection allows.
If you prefer not to use Google sharing for a specific file handoff, Dropbox is available as a scoped alternative.
Share with the agent when it helps
Section titled “Share with the agent when it helps”Your agent comes with its own Google Workspace account, shown in your dashboard in the Agent Google Workspace card. Copy the email address from that card and share specific documents, folders, calendars and email context with it.
Colleague can still help without Workspace access. Use the Workspace account when the task benefits from shared files, calendars or email context.
You can use the agent’s Google Workspace by:
- Sharing Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, folders or calendars with its email.
- Sending or forwarding emails to its email.
- Asking it to create drafts and notes in its own Drive.
Dropbox is optional. Use it only if you prefer Dropbox for file handoff. It is
app-folder scoped, so the agent can work with files in Apps/Colleague/, but
not the rest of your Dropbox.
Only connect Google, Microsoft or other personal accounts when you specifically want the agent to act as you in that account. These connections are powerful but usually unnecessary: the agent can see the account content the connection allows, not just one shared item.
For a fuller guide to briefing, managing and reviewing your agent, see Working with your agent.
What not to use it for
Section titled “What not to use it for”Colleague is for lower-risk academic and administrative work. Do not put participant, patient, student, special-category or institutionally restricted data into it. See Privacy and security for the practical boundaries.