As a travel agency owner, I have schedules and I have routines set up in Claude. People ask me what the difference is, and the answer is where the work runs.
A schedule is a process that runs on our actual physical computer. A routine is something that goes into the cloud.
“A schedule is a process that is run on our actual physical computer. A routine is something that goes into the cloud.”
What I put on a schedule
Anything that needs to get into my computer goes on a schedule. If our agent is going through email and a client's insurance came in, I want it saved. Any files that arrive, we may want saved to a folder on the computer.
Vendor emails are a good example. Say we just had a discovery call and there's a summary of it. The AI can reference that call, see where the client is going, then look in our files for the right vendor and draft an email to that vendor asking for a price quote. It needs my files to do that, so it runs as a schedule.
How it works
Where the work runs
Schedule
Runs on your computer
- Needs your computer awake, with the Claude app open
- Save a client's insurance to a folder
- Draft a quote request to a vendor
Routine
Runs in the cloud
- Keeps running with the laptop closed
- Draft replies to clients
- Add things to the calendar
- The morning briefing
The one question
Needs files on my computer? ScheduleDoesn't? Routine
Claire's own numbers
Schedule or routine? How Claire decides
- 1
Name the task
save a file, draft a quote request, a morning briefing
- 2
Ask where it works
does it need files on your computer?
- 3
Yes: schedule
runs on your physical computer
- 4
No: routine
runs in the cloud, laptop open or not
One question per task, taken from how her travel agency sets up Claude.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
What I put on a routine
A routine happens in the cloud. If we want our AI employee to draft responses back to clients, add things to our calendar, or put together a morning briefing for us every day, those run as routines.
The point of a routine is that it still runs whether my laptop is open or not. I don't have to be at my desk for the morning briefing to be waiting for me.
The question I ask for each task
Does this need to touch something that lives on my computer? If yes, it's a schedule. If it can do its job in the cloud and I want it running even when my laptop is closed, it's a routine. Each process in the agency goes through that one question.
A note before you try this
A schedule only runs while your computer is awake and the Claude app is open. If the laptop sleeps through the time, that run is skipped, and Claude does one catch-up run when the computer wakes. So anything that has to happen at a set hour, like the morning briefing, belongs on a routine. Set up one task first, run it once by hand, and check what it did before you add the next.
Get help sorting yours
If you came from Instagram, comment Automate on the reel and I'll show you how. And if you're just getting started with Claude, my free AI Masterclass walks you through setting it up and building your first AI employee.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a schedule and a routine in Claude?
In the way Claire uses Claude, a schedule is a process that runs on your actual physical computer, so it can reach your local files. A routine runs in the cloud, so it keeps working whether your laptop is open or not. Pick based on where the task needs to work.
What tasks should a travel agency run as a schedule?
Anything that needs your computer. Claire's examples are saving client insurance documents that arrive by email into a folder, and drafting a quote request to a vendor after the AI reads a discovery call summary and looks through her files to find the right vendor.
What tasks should run as a routine in the cloud?
Tasks that don't need your computer and should run even when your laptop is closed. Claire's examples are drafting responses back to clients, adding things to her calendar, and an automated morning briefing that is waiting for her every day without her being at her desk.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
Claire B. Soares is the founder of Travel AI University, a 6x Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist, and a Certified AI Consultant with a B.S. in Computer Science. A top 10% enterprise sales executive, she sold $3.4B+ in enterprise software to Google, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD, then built $16M+ in luxury travel sales.
About Claire
