Anthropic has broadened access to its automated assistant platform, Claude Cowork, bringing the tool to web browsers and mobile devices for the first time. The cross-platform beta rollout begins with subscribers on the $100 per month Claude Max plan, with the company indicating additional subscription tiers will be added later without disclosing specific plans or timelines.
Cloud-first architecture replaces local processing
The expansion represents a fundamental shift in how the platform operates. Originally released in January as a desktop-only application for Windows and macOS, Claude Cowork now executes tasks on Anthropic’s remote servers by default, rather than relying on the processing power of a user’s local machine. This cloud-based infrastructure enables scheduled workflows to run uninterrupted even when a user’s laptop is completely shut down. Support for iOS and Android means professionals can initiate complex, multi-step projects on a desktop workstation, monitor their progress during a commute, and retrieve finished deliverables later from any connected device.
Enterprise data reveals knowledge-work dominance
To coincide with the launch, Anthropic published findings from an analysis of 1.2 million anonymized sessions across more than 600,000 organizations. The data challenges early industry assumptions that agentic tools primarily serve software developers. Engineering tasks accounted for only 8.7% of active Cowork sessions, while over 90% of logged activity fell squarely within standard knowledge work. Routine administrative chores, ranging from expense reconciliation to consolidating scattered team updates into a single report, represented 33.4% of the system’s total workload. Everyday copywriting and content creation followed at 16.4%.
Desktop still required for file-heavy work
While the new web and mobile interfaces simplify monitoring and task initiation, Anthropic noted that local file access and browser manipulation still depend on the Claude Desktop application running in the background. For file-intensive operations, the desktop client remains essential, even if a session is launched or checked later from a phone or browser. The company is also maintaining strict guardrails around automated actions: whenever the agent encounters a decision point or prepares to send an email, it pushes a notification to the user’s phone requiring manual sign-off before any work is finalized.
Sources: claude.com, indianexpress.com