Schedules and background work

Ask Otto to do something later or regularly, and it saves a schedule and does the work in the background.

Otto also notices new email and activity in your connected apps and prepares useful work on its own. This page covers both.

Create a schedule

Ask in chat. For example:

"Every weekday at 8:00, summarize my calendar and anything urgent in my inbox."
"Tomorrow at 15:00, remind me to call the landlord."

A schedule runs One time or is Recurring. Otto tells you when it's saved and when it runs next. When you hand Otto work that needs follow-up, it can also plan its own check-in, such as "I'll look for a reply on Friday". Check-ins are schedules too.

Otto uses your time zone, saved from your browser the first time you use Otto. Change it in Settings → Preferences. If Otto doesn't know your time zone, it asks.

Change or cancel a schedule

Open Tasks → Scheduled. Each schedule shows its timing and next run.

Use the switch to pause or resume it.
Select See details to read the instruction or change the timing.
Select Ask Otto to change it in your own words.
Select Delete schedule. Future runs stop, and past runs stay in Previous.

You can also tell Otto in chat, for example "stop the morning summary".

What happens when a schedule runs

flowchart TD
  due[Schedule is due]:::accent --> run[Otto runs it<br/>in the background]
  run --> check[Trust check<br/>against your instruction]
  check --> useful{{Useful result<br/>or question?}}
  useful -- yes --> send[Message in the chat<br/>where you set it up]:::go
  useful -- no --> quiet[Stays quiet]:::muted

It runs next to your chat. A schedule doesn't wait for the conversation, and the conversation doesn't wait for it.
It only messages you when it matters. That means a useful result, a problem or a question. Routine checks stay quiet.
It replies where you asked. A schedule you set up on Telegram sends its messages to Telegram.
Approvals still apply. Each action is checked against the instruction that created the schedule. If an action isn't covered, Otto asks you first. See Approvals.

Each run appears in Tasks → Previous.

Work Otto starts on its own

You don't need a schedule for Otto to keep an eye on things.

Gmail. Otto checks for new inbox mail every five minutes. It reads a new message and decides whether there's useful work, such as preparing a reply.
Other connected apps. Otto reacts to their updates. For an app without updates, it runs a short read-only check, at most every 30 minutes per account.

Work Otto starts on its own only reads and drafts. Sending, deleting or anything else waits for your yes. Tell Otto what's worth interrupting you for, and it follows that.

Quiet hours

Quiet hours are on by default, from 22:00 to 08:00. Change them in Settings → Preferences → Quiet hours.

During quiet hours, Otto saves new mail and app activity for later instead of acting on it, and pauses its activity checks. Schedules you created still run on time.

Keep Otto running

If a run comes due while Otto is closed, it runs once when Otto is running again.