Last week, Kyle and special guest Sean debated whether Claude Code is worth switching to if you don't know how to code. The answer was: it depends. So Sean spent the following week finding out. In this episode, it's the second part of our interview with Sean. Kyle and Sean to go through what actually happened when Sean used Claude Code for a week, including the modes that made Claude Code manageable, the controls that give you more say over how it works, and where it still falls short of Cowork for everyday work. Plus, Jess is back from Cannes Lions with a round-up of what the advertising industry is saying about where AI is heading.

Vibe Coding Series:

Part 1 of Sean's interview: https://shows.acast.com/early-adoptr/episodes/claude-code-vs-cowork-what-non-technical-founders-need-to-kn

Basics of Vibe-coding: https://shows.acast.com/early-adoptr/episodes/vibe-coding-for-non-technical-founders-where-things-actually

How to set up your files & folders for vibe-coding: https://shows.acast.com/early-adoptr/episodes/your-ai-keeps-forgetting-everything-heres-how-to-fix-it-w-ro

How to find Sean:

Use these links for a discount on the tools we recommend (and it supports the pod!)

Wispr Flow - AI-powered voice dictation that works across every app on your desktop - https://ref.wisprflow.ai/early-adoptr
Granola - The best AI meeting notes! New users get 100% off for their first month - https://www.granola.ai?via=early-adoptr

In this episode:

How Claude Code's modes (plan, think, auto) work and which to reach for
Running several tasks at the same time and what it does to your output speed
Monitoring and automation: setting Claude Code to act when something changes
Managing how much effort Claude Code puts in and avoiding burning through your usage
Comparing Claude Code and Cowork: what each one is actually better at
Sean's week-long experiment switching exclusively to Claude Code
Jess's round-up from Cannes Lions 2026 and what was different about AI conversations this year

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction, Cannes Lions and the Claude Fable 5 update

11:06 - What agents actually are in Claude Code

13:26 - Plan mode, thinking mode and auto mode

19:28 - How Claude Code can work on several things at once

27:26 - Making the most of your Claude Code usage

28:42 - Set it and forget it: monitoring with Claude Code

31:05 - Why batching your focus time matters

33:11 - Setting Claude Code to watch for something and act when it happens

35:39 - The Claude Code controls that give you more say over how it works

38:20 - How to stop Claude Code from using more than you need

41:13 - Cowork vs Claude Code: Sean's verdict