The new model was built in less than two weeks using Claude Code, according to Anthropic’s head of Claude Code.
Anthropic has launched Cowork, a simpler version of Claude Code for non-coding related tasks. According to the tech giant, this new model has more agency – it can read, edit and re-organise files, taking on many of same tasks Claude Code can, but in a more “approachable” form.
Cowork is designed to make using Claude for work easier, Anthropic said. The new model does not require human users to continuously input manual context, and queries can be queued up in the system.
“It feels much less like a back-and-forth and much more like leaving messages for a co-worker,” a statement from the company announcing the launch yesterday (12 January) read.
In this new mode, Claude can still access users’ existing ‘connectors’, which link the model to external information. But in addition, Cowork comes with an improved ability to create documents and presentations. Anthropic also said that if you pair Cowork with Claude in Chrome, the bot can complete tasks that require browser access.
“Since we launched Claude Code, we saw people using it for all sorts of non-coding work: doing vacation research, building slide decks, cleaning up your email, cancelling subscriptions, recovering wedding photos from a hard drive, monitoring plant growth, controlling your oven,” said Boris Cherny, the creator and head of Claude Code at Anthropic, in a post on X.
The new model was built in less than two weeks using Claude Code, Cherny confirmed online.
However, Anthropic warns that Cowork can be compromised using ‘prompt injections’, which are used by bad actors to alter user-inputted prompts and queries through the content the model might encounter on the internet or through downloaded files.
In addition, Cowork could also take destructive actions, the company said, including deleting local files. In order to minimise the model misinterpreting queries, Anthropic suggests users input specific guidance.
Cowork is available as a research preview for Claude Max subscribers on Anthropic’s MacOS app.
Earlier in the week, Anthropic launched Claude for Healthcare, a dedicated set of tools for medical queries for consumers and healthcare providers.
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