Anthropic's Claude can now browse apps on your desktop to automate tasks

Anthropic is bringing system-level control to Claude, allowing it to perform tasks on your computer, automate workflows, and execute actions across apps and devices

Anthropic has announced an update to Claude AI, introducing the ability to carry out tasks directly on a user’s computer. With this update, Claude Code and Claude Cowork tools can now open files, browse the web, and use developer tools, moving beyond a purely chat-based experience. The feature is currently available as a research preview on macOS. 

In a series of posts on X, Anthropic said users can enable Claude to “use your computer to complete tasks,” including opening apps, navigating the browser, and filling in spreadsheets. The company noted that Claude prioritises connected apps such as Slack, Calendar, and other integrations, and in cases where a connector is not available, it will ask for permission before directly accessing and operating an app on the user’s system. 

 

The company also highlighted cross-device functionality as part of the update. Users can assign tasks from their phone and have them completed on their computer, while recurring actions such as scanning emails daily or generating weekly reports can be automated after being set up once. The feature is available to Claude Pro and Claude Max users and can be accessed by updating the desktop app and pairing it with a mobile device. 

What can Claude do now

As shown in a video shared by Claude on X, the updated system can handle a range of tasks across devices. It can be controlled via a smartphone while executing actions on a computer, extracting a presentation file from a system, converting it into a PDF, and attaching it to a calendar invite. 

It can also start a development server, capture screenshots based on user instructions, and send them within a set deadline. Additionally, Claude can process batches of photos, resize them, and apply edits such as adding logos.

Assign a task from your phone, turn your attention to something else, and come back to finished work on your computer.  Tell Claude once to scan your email every morning or pull a report every Friday, and it handles it from there. pic.twitter.com/HeaBKnPl8D

— Claude (@claudeai) March 23, 2026

What is Claude Cowork

Earlier last month, Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork, an agent-based AI workspace that allows its assistant to go beyond chat and actively handle tasks such as reading, editing, organising, and creating files within a user-designated folder. Available as a research preview for Claude Max users on macOS, it also includes multiple plug-ins to automate workflows across areas like legal, sales, marketing, and data analysis. 

The system works by planning tasks step by step and executing them in parallel, aiming to function more like a digital coworker than a chatbot, though it has also raised concerns about potential disruption to traditional software tools. 

What is Claude Code

Claude Code is an agentic AI coding tool that can read codebases, edit files, run commands, and integrate with development environments across terminal, IDE, desktop, and browser. As per Anthropic, it helps developers build features, fix bugs, and automate tasks by understanding entire codebases and working across multiple files and tools. 

Claude Code recently made headlines when Anthropic introduced Claude Code Security, a capability built into its AI coding assistant that helps developers identify vulnerabilities by analysing how code behaves, rather than relying only on known threat patterns. Designed for developers and security teams, the tool aims to bring AI-driven insights directly into codebases. 

The launch gained attention beyond the developer ecosystem after it triggered a market reaction. According to reports, shares of several cybersecurity firms, including CrowdStrike, Zscaler, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, and SailPoint, declined following the rollout, as investors assessed whether AI-driven tools could disrupt parts of the traditional application security market.