Washington, July 08 (QNA) - Anthropic announced that it is making its AI assistant, Claude Cowork, available on the web and smartphones for the first time, after previously limiting it to the company's desktop application. The move is intended to make it easier for users to manage and complete workplace tasks from anywhere. 
Claude Cowork can carry out multi-step tasks on behalf of users, including organizing files, researching topics, preparing reports, and working across connected applications without requiring users to oversee every step manually. 
The expansion allows users to start and manage tasks through a web browser or on iPhone and Android devices, making the service more suitable for people working remotely or on the move, with tasks continuing to run in the background. 
The company said its desktop application for macOS and Windows will continue to provide the most comprehensive experience by retaining direct access to local files. The web and mobile versions, meanwhile, are primarily focused on assigning tasks, monitoring their progress, and reviewing results. 
Anthropic also updated the service's backend infrastructure so that Claude Cowork sessions now run in the cloud by default rather than leaving the user's computer powered on. This allows users to start a task on their computer and continue monitoring it on their phone or web browser without interruption. In contrast, the task continues processing even if the laptop is closed. 
The company added that scheduled tasks will continue to run even if none of the user's devices are connected to the internet. Claude will also send notifications to users' phones whenever a task requires review or approval. Desktop users will still be able to switch between cloud-based and local processing according to their preferences. 
The feature will initially roll out to subscribers of the Max plan, with availability expanding to users on other paid plans over the coming weeks. 
Alongside the launch of Claude Cowork on the web and mobile devices, Anthropic also announced that it is extending the doubled usage limits for the service until August 5, giving users more time to explore its capabilities. (QNA)