(Credit: Anthropic)
Anthropic has updated its Claude Cowork and Claude Code tools to let them autonomously carry out tasks on your PC. Without the need for any additional setup, these tools can interact with your screen to open files, access your browser, and complete tasks based on your prompts.
Anthropic first introduced the capability as “computer use” in 2024. You can now use it via Cowork and Code tabs on the macOS app if you have Anthropic’s Pro or Max subscription.
With computer use, you can get Claude to fill out forms on your browser, fetch and process documents, organize folders into categories, or carry out similar tasks on other apps. Note that Claude will only be able to access the files, folders, and apps you allow it to.
When you give the chatbot a command, it will first reach out to connectors like Slack or Google Calendar. If there isn’t a connected app for the task, Claude will “directly control your browser, mouse, keyboard, and screen to complete tasks. It will scroll, click to open, and explore as needed, always asking for your explicit permission first,” Anthropic says.
Though helpful, the feature is still in its early stages and may get things wrong, the startup warns. You can end a task anytime you want, but the company recommends “starting with the apps you trust and not working with sensitive data.”
What makes Claude’s automation more interesting is a feature called Dispatch. It lets you control your PC remotely from your phone, provided both devices are connected to the internet and awake. While setting it up, you can give Dispatch permission to access your files, folders, and apps.
Once ready, the Dispatch tool can be accessed from the left pane of your mobile app. You can use it to provide Claude commands to pull data from files, check Slack messages and emails, build a presentation, or organize folders. You can also ask Claude to schedule tasks or provide daily or weekly updates.
Dispatch maintains a single thread for all your conversations. It remembers tasks to better understand your workflow and help you avoid repeating your requirements. You can, however, “view, edit, and delete your memory at any time,” Anthropic says in a support page.
Claude’s task automation feature arrives weeks after OpenClaw took the internet by storm; its creator later joined OpenAI. Meta’s recently acquired startup, Manus, also launched an app this month with an AI agent that controls your PC.