> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.adstellar.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Tasks — the Agent working on its own
> Let the AdStellar Agent keep an eye on your account between sessions — scheduled check-ins, guardrail alerts, and rules that pause losers and scale winners while you're away.
Most of the Agent works in a conversation — you ask, it does. **Tasks** is the other half: the work the Agent does **on its own**, between sessions, so your account keeps moving when you're not in the app.
It's the **Tasks** item in the left sidebar, at **[app.adstellar.ai/tasks](https://app.adstellar.ai/tasks)**.
Everything a task does is recorded **in the app** — the Activity feed is the source of truth. Slack is an additive push: if you've [connected Slack](/getting-started/use-agent-in-slack), the Agent can message you there too, but it never has to.
## Two kinds of tasks
Under one surface there are two engines, and the Agent picks the right one for what you ask:
* **Agent tasks** — open-ended work on a schedule, run by the full Agent (the same AI as the chat). Great for recaps, scans, and "check on X and tell me if Y." Because they run the Agent, they **use credits** like any other turn.
* **Auto rules** — deterministic *if-this-then-that* rules that watch your live ads and act: pause underperformers, scale winners, rotate creative, archive, or just alert. They're re-checked continuously and **run for free**.
You don't pick the engine yourself — just describe what you want and the Agent sets up the right kind. Auto rules are authored in plain English through chat rather than a manual rule builder.
## What runs out of the box
As soon as your team **connects Slack**, AdStellar seeds a few **system tasks** so you get value before configuring anything:
| Task | When it runs | What it does |
| ------------------------------ | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Account heartbeat** | Twice on weekdays | Scans your paid media *and* your team's Slack discussion, and messages you only when something genuinely needs attention — a winner to scale, a problem to fix, a timely recap. Stays quiet the rest of the time. |
| **Workflow discovery** | Twice a week | Looks for one high-value automation you're not using yet and suggests it. |
| **Anomaly & guardrail alerts** | In real time | Flags urgent problems the moment they happen — CPA spikes, runaway spend, or spend with no conversions — and recommends the safest fix. |
System tasks are marked **System** and can be **paused or retimed**, but not deleted. They only run once Slack is connected, since that's where their updates land.
## Create your own
You don't need a form — just tell the Agent what you want and when.
In the chat (or in Slack), say something like *"Every Monday at 8:30am, summarize last week's results,"* or *"Watch my campaigns and pause any ad set spending over \$50 with no conversions."*
The Agent turns your request into a task and shows you exactly what it will do and when, before anything is saved.
Once you approve, the task appears on the **Tasks** page and starts running on its schedule. You can also create a task from scratch with **New task**.
Ask in a Slack **channel** and updates post there; ask in a **DM** and they stay private to you.
## Suggest-first, by default
Tasks are cautious about taking action on your behalf:
* **Ask in Slack** *(default)* — the task does its analysis, then proposes any action as a **Confirm / Cancel** card and waits for your tap. Nothing changes your account until you approve it.
* **Run Auto** — for tasks you trust, an Auto rule can run automatically and report back **after** it acts, so routine optimizations happen without you in the loop.
You'll see the current mode as a badge on each task, and you can change it anytime.
## The Activity feed
The **Activity** tab (top of the Tasks page) is the running log of everything your Agent did on its own. Each run shows:
* A **status** — Success, Skipped, Blocked, or Failed
* The **trigger** — scheduled, an anomaly, or "Ran now"
* A one-line **preview** of the result, plus a **Sent to Slack** tag if it was pushed there
* **View result** to open the full thread for runs that produced one
Quiet scans that found nothing worth reporting show up as **"Scanned — nothing to report,"** so you can always confirm the Agent is watching even on a slow day.
## Managing tasks
On the **Tasks** page you can filter by **All / Mine / System**, and for each task:
* **Pause or resume** it with the toggle
* **Run now** to fire an agent task immediately
* Open **History** to jump to that task's runs in Activity
* **Edit** an agent task's prompt and schedule, or **Delete** tasks you created (system tasks can't be deleted)
## Credits
Agent tasks run the Agent, so each run is **metered in credits** just like a chat turn — and any action it would take is confirmed first, so there are no silent charges. Auto rules are deterministic checks and **don't use credits**. See [Modes & Credits](/agent/modes-credits) for how metering works.
How the Agent works, conversations, and confirmations.
Connect Slack so tasks can reach you where your team works.