Use Glean Tau with Glean Web

Glean Tau and Glean Web share your user identity, permissions, company knowledge, and approved models, but they run in different places and do different work. Glean Web is a cloud app you can use from any browser or device. Glean Tau runs on one computer and can act on local files, tools, and applications.

Choose where to start

Start with the job you want done, not the product. When you ask a question in a Glean Tau chat, it searches the same company knowledge as Glean Web, with the same permissions. You don't need to switch to Glean Web to get a complete answer.

If you want to	Start in	Why
Ask a question, find a document, or look up a person	Either	Both search the same company sources. Start in whichever app you already have open.
Draft a document, slide deck, or spreadsheet	Either	Both create artifacts. Start in Glean Tau when the draft also needs local files or desktop tools.
Ask about or act on what's in another app, without switching windows	Glean Tau	Spotlight and Chat Window open a chat over any app, and Dictation types your speech into any app on macOS.
Complete steps in a web app you're signed in to	Glean Tau	Browser Use and the in-app Browser can open pages, fill in forms, and collect information for you.
Do work in a desktop app that has no integration	Glean Tau	Computer Use can operate local apps on your behalf.
Take notes in a meeting	Glean Tau	Meeting notes capture and summarize the call on your computer.
Work with files on your computer or in a repository	Glean Tau	Glean Tau reads and writes files in your project folder and can run commands.
Repeat a task that needs your files or desktop tools	Glean Tau	Automations run on your computer while Glean Tau is open.
Repeat a task that must run while your computer is off, or that others run too	Glean Web	Glean Agents run in Glean's cloud and can be shared.
Build an agent for your team in a visual builder	Glean Web	The Agent builder is available only in Glean Web.
Browse your company's Library, Answers, Collections, or Go Links	Glean Web	You can also open Glean Web inside Glean Tau.
Work from a phone or another computer	Glean Web	Glean Tau runs only on the computer where you installed it.

If your work happens mostly in the browser

You don't need local files to get value from Glean Tau. If your day happens in web apps and cloud services, Glean Tau adds a chat you can open over any app, dictation, meeting notes, and an agent that can work in your signed-in web apps. Glean Web is still one click away inside Glean Tau, so you can keep your searches and saved knowledge in one place.

Compare Glean Tau and Glean Web

Use this table to know where to do different types of work.

Task	Glean Tau	Glean Web	Notes
Search your company's knowledge	✅	✅	Glean Tau and Glean Web both support company knowledge search.
Work with files already on your computer	✅	❌	Glean Tau reads and writes files in your selected project folder. Glean Web can work with files you specifically upload.
Run commands, use Git, work in a codebase	✅	❌	Use Glean Tau to perform engineering workflows. See Get started for engineering users.
Automate a repeating task on your machine	✅	❌	To create automations in Glean Tau, see Create an automation. Glean Web agents can perform repeated tasks.
Capture meeting notes	✅	❌	Glean Tau captures meeting notes and stores them locally. See Take meeting notes.
Spotlight and Chat Window	✅	❌	Glean Tau opens a chat over any application from a global shortcut. See Chat over another app.
Dictation	✅	❌	Glean Tau inserts your speech as text at your cursor in any app. See Dictate text in any app.
Computer Use	✅	❌	Glean Tau can inspect and control local applications on your behalf. See Let the agent use your computer.
In-app Browser and Browser Use	✅	Partly	Both can drive your signed-in Chrome through the Glean Browser Operator extension. Glean Tau has a built-in browser it can open and operate for you. See Browse and automate web pages.
Create an artifact	✅	✅	Glean Tau creates artifacts locally, then shares them to your Glean account. See Create and manage artifacts.
Browse all your saved knowledge	Partly	✅	Use Glean Tau to access your local in-progress work and artifacts already available in Glean Web. Use Glean Web to access your company's full Library, Answers, Collections, and Go Links.
Build and run Glean Agents	Partly	✅	Use Glean Web to build Glean Agents in a visual interface, and run them too. Use Glean Tau to build and run Glean Agents using the composer. Glean Tau does not support a visual agent builder interface.
Look up people and teams	✅	✅	Use Glean Web or Glean Tau to search for people and teams.
Work from any browser, device, or phone	❌	✅	Glean Tau runs on the computer where you installed it. Glean Web is available from any browser or device.
Configure available models	✅	✅	Admins can configure model access in the Admin console. See Glean Tau.

Understand what Glean Tau and Glean Web don't share

Chats and projects exist in both products separately. Chats you have in Glean Tau stay on your device and don't appear in Glean Web. Projects also mean different things: a Glean Web project collects cloud files and instructions your team can share, while a Glean Tau project is a working folder on your computer.

To move work from Glean Tau into Glean Web, use an artifact. Glean Tau uploads new artifacts to your Glean account as private copies and keeps them in sync, so you can open and share them in Glean Web. See Sync artifacts with Glean.

Open Glean Web from Glean Tau

Select More → Glean Web in the left sidebar, or select Glean Web directly if you've pinned it. Glean Tau opens the full Glean workplace app in the center of the window, in place of Chat, and signs you in with your existing session.

Use it to find people, company knowledge, collections, and anything else you'd normally reach in your browser, without leaving Glean Tau.

Select Back to Glean Tau in the Glean Web tab to return to what you were doing in Glean Tau. Glean Tau remembers where you were inside Glean Web, so it maintains your place when you leave and come back.

Links inside Glean Web that point elsewhere in Glean stay in the embedded app. Links to other sites open in your external browser.

Open Glean links beside a chat

When you select a Glean link in a chat, it opens in a Glean Web tab in the side panel instead of the Browser. Use Go back, Go forward, and Reload to move around, or select Open in external browser to open the page in your default browser. The address field above the page shows the current Glean URL and is read-only. Double-click the Glean Web tab to reload it.

note

Glean Web is part of the required Glean extension. It's always on, and it doesn't appear in Settings → Extensions.

See also

• Glean Tau overview — what Glean Tau does and how it differs from Glean Web