Anthropic lets Claude take control of your computer and handle tasks solo

Anthropic is pushing its AI assistant further into your daily workflow, this time by letting Claude take over your computer and complete tasks on its own. The new capability, announced this week, gives Claude access to your screen, mouse, keyboard and apps, turning it from a chatbot into something closer to a remote operator.

So, instead of briefing the AI model step by step, you can just hand over access, assign a task, and walk away. Claude then navigates your system much like you would, opening apps, browsing, editing documents, and updating spreadsheets while you are elsewhere.

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In fact, Anthropic’s Alex Albert hinted at a future where the need to even open a laptop for routine work may soon start to fade.

Turning from an assistant to an operator

This new feature builds on Anthropic’s recent “Dispatch” rollout, which allows users to control Claude remotely via their phone. Combined, the two features suggest a workflow where your device becomes a kind of terminal rather than the centre of activity.

Claude begins with access to connected tools such as Slack or Calendar, and can request permission for additional apps as needed. Once authorised, it carries out tasks in sequence, interacting with software interfaces rather than relying solely on APIs or integrations.

That approach makes it more flexible, at least in theory. If a human can do it on a desktop, Claude should be able to replicate the same steps. In practice, how reliably it handles edge cases or unfamiliar workflows will determine how useful it becomes beyond demos.

For now, access is limited. The feature is available as a research preview to paid Claude Cowork and Claude Code users, and only on macOS. It also requires both the desktop and mobile apps to be updated and paired.

What do you think of Claude’s new agentic capabilities? Drop a comment with your thoughts.