From organizing digital chaos to drafting reports, Claude moves beyond chat to become a true desktop colleague.
- Beyond Conversation: Originally built for developers as “Claude Code,” this new tool brings high-agency autonomy to general tasks, allowing Claude to plan, execute, and parallel-process work directly on your computer.
- Direct Access & Action: By granting access to specific local folders, Cowork can organize files, generate spreadsheets from screenshots, and utilize browser integrations to complete complex workflows without constant hand-holding.
- Safety & Availability: Currently a research preview for Claude Max subscribers on macOS, Cowork prioritizes user control to mitigate risks like prompt injection, requiring explicit permissions before taking significant actions.
For years, the paradigm of Artificial Intelligence has been conversational: you ask a question, the AI gives an answer, and you copy-paste that answer into your actual work. Today, that paradigm shifts. Following the unexpected success of “Claude Code”—a tool intended for developers that was quickly adopted for general tasks—we are introducing Cowork. This is a research preview designed to transform Claude from a chatbot into an active participant in your desktop workflow.
A New Way to Work: Agency Over Chat
The fundamental difference between standard AI interactions and Cowork is agency. In a typical chat, the AI waits for your input at every turn. Cowork, however, is built on the powerful foundations of Claude Code, meaning it can formulate a plan and execute it step-by-step.
Instead of a ping-pong match of questions and answers, using Cowork feels like leaving instructions for a capable colleague. You can queue up multiple tasks and let Claude work through them in parallel, keeping you in the loop regarding its progress without requiring you to sit and watch every keystroke.
What Cowork Can Do for You
Cowork operates by being given access to a specific folder on your computer. Once authorized, it can read, edit, and create files within that environment. This opens up a vast array of practical applications that go far beyond text generation:
- Digital Housekeeping: You can instruct Cowork to clean up a cluttered Downloads folder by sorting, categorization, and renaming files based on their content.
- Data Synthesis: Imagine pointing Claude at a folder full of scattered screenshots and notes; Cowork can analyze these inputs and generate a pristine spreadsheet tracking expenses or produce a cohesive first draft of a report.
- Browser Integration: By pairing Cowork with “Claude in Chrome,” the agent can bridge the gap between your local files and the web, completing tasks that require live browser access.
To further enhance these capabilities, Cowork includes an initial set of specific “skills” designed to improve the creation of documents and presentations, alongside connectors that link Claude to your external information sources.
Keeping You in Control
With great power comes the need for robust responsibility. Because Cowork can take “destructive actions”—such as deleting or overwriting local files—safety is a core pillar of the design.
The system is built on a “permission-first” basis. Claude cannot see or touch anything you haven’t explicitly shared. Furthermore, for any significant action, Claude will pause and ask for your confirmation, allowing you to steer or course-correct its plan.
Users should be aware that this is a more advanced tool than a simple chat interface. While sophisticated defenses are in place, risks such as “prompt injections”—where malicious web content attempts to trick the AI—are an active area of industry research. We recommend users provide clear guidance and remain vigilant, particularly as they learn the ropes of agent-based workflows.
The Future of Desktop AI
Cowork is currently available as a research preview for Claude Max subscribers via the macOS app. We are releasing this early to learn how people use it and to identify where it needs to improve.
While currently limited to macOS, plans are already in motion to bring Cowork to Windows, introduce cross-device syncing, and further harden safety protocols. This is just the beginning of a future where AI doesn’t just talk about work—it helps you finish it.