Anthropic Claude gains AI computer control to automate tasks on your Mac

Anthropic's Claude Can Now Control Your Computer

Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a keyboard, you'll most likely find him playing video games, watching horror flicks, or hunting down a good churro. You can now let Claude take control of your computer to perform tasks like sending you a file you left on your hard drive, Anthropic announced Monday. For the feature to work, you just need to be on a qualifying subscription plan. In the wake of the viral explosion of the open-source OpenClaw framework earlier this year, it's the latest developer to deliver a tool that enables an AI model to act more actively OpenClaw has spawned an entire ecosystem of "claws," or AI tools that can take simple commands and perform them somewhat autonomously on your computer or with your tools or systems. Nvidia last week debuted NemoClaw, its framework for easily setting up and installing OpenClaw, with some security settings. Anthropic says that Claude will look for the right tools to complete the task at hand via connectors with apps like Google Calendar or Slack. If the tool or connector isn't available, Claude can manually perform the task by typing or moving the cursor, as if it were using the keyboard and mouse. It can use programs like your web browser, dev tools and open files. When it's performing these tasks, it can use a computer as you normally would -- by scrolling and clicking around. The only difference is that Claude will always ask for permission beforehand. You can stop Claude from performing a task at any time. Giving your chatbot the keys to your computer can be convenient for certain tasks, but it can leave your computer vulnerable to attacks. Experts told us one major worry with agentic AI is that it can take major, sometimes dramatic actions quickly and with little warning. Claws can also be hijacked by malicious actors, who can use your personal data and systems in ways you don't want. Anthropic says it implemented safeguards to minimize risks like prompt injections. The system will automatically scan for this and more vulnerabilities as they are implemented. Despite some of its efforts to keep Claude's computer use safe, Anthropic also provides a warning to users. The feature is new and may contain errors, and the company suggests not using apps that handle sensitive data -- so much so that some of these apps are disabled by default. The research preview is available now for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers and limited to computers running MacOS only. Anthropic says the new computer-use feature works well with Dispatch, which allows you to assign tasks to Claude using your phone. Such tasks include checking your email every morning or opening up a Claude Cowork or Claude Code session. The combination of computer use for Claude and Dispatch enables you to do even more while you're not even around. Anthropic says the feature combo can create a morning briefing or run tests, for example. Given that both features are new, some complex tasks might not work the first time. Anthropic said it's releasing this research preview to gain early insight on where it needs the most attention to become an even more powerful tool.

Claude Code and Cowork can now use your computer

Anthropic announced today that its Claude Code and Claude Cowork tools are being updated to accomplish tasks using your computer. The latest update will see these AI resources become capable of opening files, using the browser and running dev tools. When enabled, the Claude AI chatbot will first prioritize connectors to supported services such as the Google workplace suite or Slack, but if a connector isn't available, it will be able to still execute an assigned task. Claude should ask for permission before taking these actions, but Anthropic still recommended not using this feature to handle sensitive information as a precaution. Claude computer use will initially be available to Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers on macOS. This feature is still in a research preview, so will continue to be adjusted based on Anthropic's user feedback. It will also support use with Anthropic's Dispatch feature, which allows a person to message the chatbot in a single continuous conversation across phone and desktop.

Anthropic is giving Claude the ability to use your Mac for you - 9to5Mac

Anthropic is introducing the ability for Claude to control your Mac. Each action starts with a prompt to Claude on iPhone. In an unlisted YouTube video, Anthropic shows off Claude computer usage with Cowork and Code: In Claude Cowork and Claude Code, you can now let Claude use your computer to handle tasks. It can point, click, and navigate like you would to do everything from opening and editing files to handling complex software tasks. And with Dispatch, you can instruct Claude from your phone. Engadget reports that the feature will be available on macOS for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers as a research preview. In other words, Anthropic itself is doing OpenClaw now. The AI agent movement started on Claude before being bought by OpenAI.