Anthropic is rolling out a built in browser for Claude Cowork that lets the AI open websites, read pages, click controls and enter text without leaving the desktop app. The feature is intended for tasks such as completing web forms or retrieving figures from dashboards that do not offer an API.
The browser opens in a side panel within Claude’s desktop app and is available for macOS, Windows and Linux. It uses Chromium, the browser technology behind Chrome. Anthropic is initially making the feature available to Pro, Max and Team subscribers, as well as Enterprise customers.
The new browser is separate from a user’s everyday browser. Claude therefore cannot automatically access existing tabs, bookmarks, stored passwords or active sessions. Users can transfer individual website logins from Chrome, Edge or Firefox, although the available import options differ by operating system.
Anthropic excludes banking, email and single sign on accounts from this transfer process by default. The separation is designed to limit potential damage if an AI agent encounters malicious instructions on a website (prompt injection). The company says it has added safeguards, but advises users to use trusted sites and acknowledges that the risk cannot be eliminated.
When to use which browser
Claude’s existing Chrome extension remains useful when work depends on a page already open in the user’s browser, including services where the user is signed in. This could include updating a customer relationship system, working in an inbox or editing an online document.
For separate research or routine website tasks, Anthropic positions the new browser as the alternative. Users who already have the Chrome extension installed may need to change their preferred browser in Claude Desktop settings, as the extension remains the default option.
Sources
- Claude Cowork now runs its own browser inside the desktop app – The Decoder
- Anthropic gives Claude Cowork its own built-in browser on the desktop app separate from users’ day-to-day browser, rolling out to paying subscribers – The New Stack
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