Anthropic has launched Claude Cowork, a general-purpose AI agent that can manipulate, read, and analyze files on a user’s computer, as well as create new files. The tool is currently available as a “research preview” only to Max subscribers on $100 or $200 per month plans.
The tool, which the company describes as “Claude Code for the rest of your work,” leverages the abilities of Anthropic’s popular Claude Code software development assistant but is designed for non-technical users as opposed to programmers.
Many have pointed out that Claude Code is already more of a general-use agent than a developer-specific tool. It is capable of spinning up apps that perform functions for users across other software. But non-developers have been put off by Claude Code’s name and also the fact that Claude Code needs to be used with a coding-specific interface.
Some of the use cases Anthropic showcased for Claude Cowork include reorganizing downloads, turning receipt screenshots into expense spreadsheets, and producing first drafts from notes across a user’s desktop. Anthropic has described the tool, which can work autonomously, as “less like a back-and-forth and more like leaving messages for a coworker.”
