AI cowork tools are desktop or workspace agents that carry out multi-step tasks on a user's behalf: reading and drafting documents, working through spreadsheets and mail, filling in forms and chaining actions across applications. Organisations use them to take over routine administration and to automate workflows that previously needed a person at the keyboard.
Because an agent acts rather than only answers, the sovereignty questions concern delegated authority as much as data location. The agent typically holds access to files, mailboxes and credentials, and its reasoning runs on a model that may sit with a non-European provider. Check which actions it can take without confirmation, where intermediate context and screenshots are processed and stored, how its activity is logged and how its access is revoked. Instructions hidden in documents or web pages can also steer an agent, which makes a least-privilege setup important. Under the EU AI Act, transparency duties apply when people interact with AI, and high-risk uses carry further obligations.
In a European option, look for local execution or an EU-hosted model, fine-grained permissions, an auditable action log, support for open protocols to connect tools, and the ability to switch the underlying model without rebuilding your workflows.