help What is Claude Cowork?

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is an AI agent built into Claude on desktop, web, and mobile. You describe an outcome; Claude plans the steps, uses your files and connected tools, and does the work — while you stay in control.

Claude Cowork in one minute

Think of Cowork as a coworker that lives on your desktop. Instead of answering one prompt at a time like a chatbot, it takes a whole task — prep this meeting, organize this folder, compile this report — plans the steps, and carries them out using your calendar, Slack, email, and files. Since September 16, 2026, it is no longer a separate tab: you can hand Claude a task in any conversation, watch its work as it goes, and get the finished result back.

What Claude Cowork can do

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Run multi-step tasks

Hand off a whole job and Cowork plans and executes the steps on its own.

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Work with your files

Read, organize, create, and edit documents in the folders you point it to.

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Use your connected tools

Calendar, Slack, email, and drives — Cowork pulls context and acts across them.

schedule

Run on a schedule

Turn recurring work into scheduled tasks that run automatically in the background.

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Control the computer

When a task needs it, Cowork can see the screen and use apps to get it done.

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Keep you in control

It shows its plan and progress, and you steer or approve along the way.

How it's different

vs. Claude chat

Since September 2026, chat and Cowork are one Claude. A quick question gets an answer; a bigger job gets planned and done in the same conversation.

vs. Claude Code

Claude Code is for developers in the terminal and IDE. Cowork is a desktop agent for everyday knowledge work — files, docs, and connected apps.

vs. ChatGPT Desktop

Cowork centers on autonomous, tool-using task execution on your machine, with scheduling and local file access built in.

Who it's for

work

Busy professionals

Offload meeting prep, inbox triage, and recurring reports to a capable agent.

groups

Teams

Standardize routine workflows and let Claude keep shared folders tidy.

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Anyone with repetitive work

If a task is multi-step and repeatable, Cowork can take it off your plate.

Frequently asked

What does Claude Cowork do? expand_more

It takes multi-step tasks — like preparing a meeting, organizing files, or compiling a report — plans the steps, and completes them using your connected tools and files, right on your desktop.

Is Claude Cowork free? expand_more

The Claude desktop app is free for chat. Cowork's agentic features are included on paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise).

How is Cowork different from regular Claude? expand_more

Since September 16, 2026, they are the same app. Ask a question and Claude answers; hand over a task and Claude plans and executes it, uses your tools, and can run it on a schedule.

What do I need to use it? expand_more

A Claude account and a paid plan for the agent features. You can start tasks on web, desktop, or mobile; the Claude desktop app on macOS or Windows is needed for local files, the built-in browser, and computer use.

Is it safe to let Cowork access my files? expand_more

Cowork runs locally and works only in the folders and tools you connect. It shows its plan and progress so you can steer or stop it at any point.

What happened to the Cowork tab? expand_more

On September 16, 2026, Anthropic merged chat and Cowork into one Claude, starting with Pro and Max plans. Once the update reaches your account, the Cowork tab disappears and your Cowork tasks appear in Recents next to your chats. Nothing is lost: projects, connectors, and skills carry over.