# Give Plexii a goal with the Autonomous agent

> Give the Autonomous agent a goal and it works through it in rounds on your desk. Your autonomy setting decides what it may apply without asking.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-autonomous-agent
Section: Plexii assistant > Agents and browsing
Plans: Pro and Team plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

In a normal conversation, Plexii proposes changes one reply at a time. The **Autonomous agent** takes a whole goal instead, such as "set up a lead tracker with columns and a research agent wired to it", and works through it in rounds: it plans a step, carries out what it is allowed to, looks at what actually happened, and plans the next step, until the goal is done or it needs you.

Use it for set-up work with several parts, where you would otherwise go back and forth with Plexii many times.

## Before you start

- **Pro and Team plans** include the Autonomous agent.
- **It needs AI to run.** See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits).
- **Open the desk you want it to work on.** The agent works on the desk that is open when you click **Run**.
- **Check your autonomy setting.** It decides which changes the agent may make without asking you. See [Choose how much the agent may do on its own](#choose-how-much-the-agent-may-do-on-its-own).

## Open the Autonomous agent

1. Click the Plexii button at the bottom right of the screen.
2. Click the **Agents** tab under the panel's header.
3. Make sure **Autonomous agent** is selected at the top of the tab. The other view, **Desk agents**, lists the agents on your desks.

## Run a goal

1. Type your goal in the box. It suggests **e.g. Set up a lead tracker with columns and a research agent wired to it**.
2. Click **Run**, or press `⌘` `Enter` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `Enter` on Windows.
3. The button changes to **Working…** while the agent works. Your goal shows above the rounds as it goes.

Only one run can go at a time. While it works, the goal box is locked.

When the run has finished, click **New goal** to clear it and start again.

## What you will see

### Each round

Every round appears as a numbered card, **#1**, **#2** and so on, with a sentence saying what the agent is doing. Under it:

- a tick for each change that was made, or a cross for one that failed, with a short message
- a line, **Deferred for your approval:**, naming anything it held back for you

The agent sees exactly which changes worked and which failed, so it can correct course in the next round.

### Checking its own work

When the agent believes the goal is done, it checks what it actually changed against your goal. A round says, for example, **Verified the goal is met (100%)**. If something is missing, it lists the gaps and takes up to two more rounds to fill them.

### How the run ends

The final line shows one of these:

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Done** | The goal is met. |
| **Needs you** | The agent needs information or a decision from you. The line says what. |
| **Stopped** | The agent could not go further. The line says why, for example that it completed as far as it could and which gaps remain. |

A run has at most eight rounds. If the goal is still not confirmed by then, it stops with **Stopped after 8 rounds without confirming the goal was complete. Here is where it got to.**

### Waiting for your approval

Anything the agent held back appears at the end under **Waiting for your approval**, as the same cards Plexii uses in a conversation. Review each one and apply the ones you want. See [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals).

## Choose how much the agent may do on its own

The agent follows **Assistant autonomy** in **Settings** > **AI**:

| Setting | What the Autonomous agent does |
| --- | --- |
| **Ask before acting** | Makes no changes itself. Everything it plans waits for you under **Waiting for your approval**. This is the setting until you or your organisation change it. |
| **Act on low-risk, ask for the rest** | Applies low-risk changes itself, such as adding widgets, tables, rows, documents and desks. Anything consequential still waits for you. |
| **Suggest only** | Makes no changes. Its plans are shown as suggestions for you to carry out yourself. |

Whatever the setting, these always wait for your approval:

- deleting a widget
- putting time in your calendar
- acting on email, such as moving or flagging a message
- drafting an email or a chat message
- starting a focus timer

Your organisation can set a limit that your own choice cannot go above. The setting is read when a run starts, so changing it mid-run applies from the next run. See [Assistant autonomy](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-assistant-autonomy).

## Undo a run

Everything the agent applied in one run is a single step you can undo, labelled with the start of your goal. Undo it as you would undo any change Plexii made. See [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals).

## Tips

- **Describe the end result.** "A desk for the Q3 launch with a task list, a budget table and a running summary of the meeting notes" gives the agent a clear finish line.
- **Open the right desk first.** The agent builds on the desk you have open.
- **Use it on your inbox.** If you have connected mail, the agent can see your recent unread messages, so "draft replies to the emails that need one" works. Each reply arrives as a draft for you to review and send. See [Mail in Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview).
- **Try Act on low-risk for set-up work.** The agent can then build tables and widgets without stopping to ask, while still asking before anything consequential.

## Common questions

**The agent finished but nothing changed on my desk.** On **Ask before acting** or **Suggest only**, the agent changes nothing itself. Look under **Waiting for your approval** and apply the cards you want, or change **Assistant autonomy** in **Settings** > **AI**.

**Can it send email for me?** No. It can draft a reply, which opens for you to review and send yourself.

**It says Needs you.** Read the line beside the status, then click **New goal** and run again with the missing detail in your goal.

**Is this the same as a desk agent?** No. The Autonomous agent works once on a goal you give it. A desk agent is a widget that stays on a desk and repeats a job. See [Desk agent widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-desk-agent).

## Related tasks

- [Open, move and resize the Plexii panel](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-panel)
- [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals)
- [Assistant autonomy](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-assistant-autonomy)
- [See and manage all your agents](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-manage-agents)
- [Everything Plexii can create or change](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-actions-reference)