Claude from Anthropic: The Mac Under Control Without a Connector

Claude Takes Control of Your Mac

Anthropic continues to innovate with its assistant Claude by introducing the "computer use" feature in its Claude Cowork and Claude Code products. This new capability allows Claude to take direct control of a Mac to perform various tasks, a development that was previously reserved for developers using the Anthropic API.

A Feature in Experimental Phase

The deployment of this feature enables Claude to point, click, and navigate on a Mac's screen without requiring any prior technical setup. Claude first attempts to use dedicated connectors like Slack or Google Calendar. In the absence of a connector, it takes control of the browser, mouse, keyboard, and screen to accomplish the requested task. This capability is currently in research preview for Pro and Max subscribers, exclusively on macOS.

Anthropic assures that Claude systematically requests permission before accessing a new application, with some being blocked by default. The system is designed to scan model activations to detect prompt injection attempts. Despite these precautions, Anthropic acknowledges that the feature is still lagging behind Claude's capabilities in coding or text interaction.

Expanded Access and Professional Uses

Until now, "computer use" was only accessible via the API, limiting its use to developers. Now integrated into Cowork and Claude Code, it is available to all Pro and Max subscribers. Coupled with Dispatch, a recent feature, this capability allows users to assign a task to Claude from a smartphone, which it will execute on the Mac by taking control of the interface.

The initial use cases highlighted include preparing morning briefings, sorting large volumes of data or files, and submitting pull requests.

Ongoing Development Since 2024

The "computer use" capability is not new for Anthropic. Introduced in October 2024 with Claude 3.5 Sonnet, it was then limited to developers via the API. Since then, performance has significantly improved, achieving a score of 72.5% on benchmarks in February 2026 for Sonnet 4.6, compared to 14.9% previously.

Anthropic is not alone in this niche. Perplexity with Computer and Meta with Manus offer similar solutions, while OpenClaw, acquired by OpenAI, was a pioneer in this field. With a plugin marketplace, Google Workspace connectors, and now the "computer use", Cowork continues to evolve since its launch in January 2026, aiming to become a standalone workstation accessible from any screen.